Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE MWA opened at $25.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.03. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $22.74 and a 1-year high of $31.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.57 and a quick ratio of 2.92.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.11% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.33 per share, for a total transaction of $29,965.39. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,946 shares in the company, valued at $631,882.18. The trade was a 4.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $75,400,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $165,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,193 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 112.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,267,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198,801 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 344.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 945,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,733,000 after purchasing an additional 732,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 58.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,217,000 after purchasing an additional 714,913 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.