Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price objective upped by Robert W. Baird from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MWA. Oppenheimer raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $18.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $12.11 and a twelve month high of $18.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.57.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. The business had revenue of $353.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,892.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Paul Mcandrew sold 23,000 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $345,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,649.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares in the company, valued at $623,892.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MWA. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 191,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 31,739 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 81.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,817 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8,617.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 21,631 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 15.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 8,143 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.