Short Interest in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Increases By 48.4%

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,830,000 shares, an increase of 48.4% from the February 28th total of 2,580,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE MWA traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $25.44. 2,274,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,559,731. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.92. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $14.81 and a 12 month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

About Mueller Water Products

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.