Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Trading Up 4.7%

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)’s share price was up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.06 and last traded at $16.06. Approximately 209,614 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,033,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.20.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $256.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 13.86%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.064 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, COO Paul Mcandrew sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $345,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,649.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Paul Mcandrew sold 23,000 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $345,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,701 shares in the company, valued at $100,649.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 132.1% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 22.8% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.