Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) Given New $38.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) had its target price raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ZWS. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ZWS stock opened at $39.77 on Wednesday. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions has a 12 month low of $27.55 and a 12 month high of $41.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.89.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $410.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.15 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 13.30%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Todd A. Adams sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.83, for a total value of $4,779,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,242,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,333,392.61. This represents a 5.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 10,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $351,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 374,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,124,370. This represents a 2.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 157,237 shares of company stock valued at $6,164,583 in the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 20,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 18,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 178.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.