Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.40.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE MWA opened at $21.67 on Friday. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $20.90 and a one year high of $31.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.75 and a 200 day moving average of $25.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.01.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 19.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $29,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 26,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,503.50. This trade represents a 5.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. The trade was a 48.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $165,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,193 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 58.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,217,000 after purchasing an additional 714,913 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 30.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 888,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,438,000 after purchasing an additional 205,269 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 354.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 588,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,187,000 after purchasing an additional 459,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc develops and manufactures products used to build, maintain and monitor water transmission and distribution systems. Its offerings help utilities and other infrastructure operators control water flow, connect and repair pipelines, manage pressure and identify leaks.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings and repair products, metering and monitoring systems, leak-detection technologies, and related flow-control equipment.