Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Freedom Broker reduced their price target on Mueller Industries from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

Mueller Industries Trading Up 0.0%

Mueller Industries stock opened at $54.13 on Friday. Mueller Industries has a 1-year low of $51.20 and a 1-year high of $71.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.57.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 25.23%. The company’s revenue was up 31.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Goldman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.08, for a total value of $128,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 79,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,109,354.72. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Hansen sold 2,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.72, for a total value of $165,507.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 181,328 shares in the company, valued at $12,279,532.16. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 275,444 shares of company stock worth $18,885,398 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Mueller Industries during the second quarter worth about $1,437,555,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,156,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,286,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 136.5% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,674,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,561,000 after purchasing an additional 966,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $95,120,000. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Industries Company Profile

Mueller Industries, Inc is a manufacturer of metal and plastic products used in plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire protection, water distribution, and industrial applications. Its product portfolio includes copper, brass, aluminum, and steel tubing; fittings; valves; copper and plastic piping systems; and related components.

The company sells products primarily through wholesale distributors, original equipment manufacturers, building-supply outlets, and other industrial channels.