Analysts Set Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Target Price at $25.80

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.80.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after purchasing an additional 64,399 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,119 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after buying an additional 77,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $27.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $14.81 and a fifty-two week high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.