Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $29.94 and last traded at $29.44, with a volume of 1494989 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.68 and a 200 day moving average of $25.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The company had revenue of $318.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.41 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,549.25. This represents a 6.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 15,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $371,614.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 85,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,115,276.54. This trade represents a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,535,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203,088 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 112.2% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,267,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,099,000 after buying an additional 1,198,801 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 525.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,393,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,557,000 after buying an additional 1,170,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 19.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,825,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $140,042,000 after buying an additional 945,258 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 21.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,987,000 after buying an additional 796,596 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

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.