Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

MWA has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.75 per share, with a total value of $30,024.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,897.25. This trade represents a 5.16% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,400,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 34.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $165,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,193 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 112.2% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,267,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198,801 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 344.1% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 945,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,733,000 after purchasing an additional 732,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,217,000 after purchasing an additional 714,913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $25.14 on Thursday. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $22.74 and a one year high of $31.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.95.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.11% and a net margin of 14.17%. As a group, analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 21.37%.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.