Head to Head Analysis: Watts Water Technologies (WTS) vs. Its Competitors

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) is one of 93 publicly-traded companies in the “Building Products” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Watts Water Technologies to related businesses based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Watts Water Technologies pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies pays out 18.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Building Products” companies pay a dividend yield of 7.0% and pay out 37.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Watts Water Technologies has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Watts Water Technologies and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Watts Water Technologies	$2.44 billion	$340.80 million	27.05
Watts Water Technologies Competitors	$4.05 billion	$4.65 billion	39.15

Watts Water Technologies’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Watts Water Technologies. Watts Water Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Watts Water Technologies has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Watts Water Technologies’ peers have a beta of 1.07, suggesting that their average stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Watts Water Technologies and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Watts Water Technologies	0	6	4	1	2.55
Watts Water Technologies Competitors	745	3944	5074	241	2.48

Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $368.30, indicating a potential upside of 2.06%. As a group, “Building Products” companies have a potential upside of 26.74%. Given Watts Water Technologies’ peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Watts Water Technologies has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.0% of Watts Water Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.6% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Watts Water Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Watts Water Technologies and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Watts Water Technologies	16.00%	19.75%	14.39%
Watts Water Technologies Competitors	3.89%	-38.18%	5.03%

Summary

Watts Water Technologies beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures products that help control the safety, flow, and quality of water in plumbing, heating, and water-treatment systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, and industrial applications. The company’s offerings include backflow preventers, valves, water pressure regulators, drainage products, water-quality and treatment systems, and controls for heating and hot-water applications. It also provides solutions for water reuse and other water-management needs.