The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Price

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price target boosted by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.12% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MWA. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.59. 1,905,326 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,423,368. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $13.64 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth about $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.