Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.67.

ZWS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

ZWS opened at $29.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.86. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions has a 1-year low of $28.25 and a 1-year high of $41.15.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.04. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 10.23%. On average, analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.13%.

Insider Activity at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, CFO David J. Pauli sold 8,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.47, for a total transaction of $297,593.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,272.70. This represents a 12.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Aimee Katz sold 8,912,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.60, for a total value of $299,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,002,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $504,094,718.40. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZWS. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 184.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,556,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,661,000 after buying an additional 2,304,285 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $80,457,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,441,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119,777 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $61,412,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,880,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,642 shares in the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.