Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Price Target Cut to $24.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Barclays from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 0.85% from the stock’s previous close.

MWA has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.7%

Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.21. 177,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,549. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.81. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $20.90 and a 52 week high of $31.00.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The company had revenue of $376.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $375.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $300 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total value of $291,923.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,865.52. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Brian Healy bought 1,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $29,928.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 26,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $572,503.50. This represents a 5.52% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock worth $1,360,685. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 34,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 11,817 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 37,934.0% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 40,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 40,210 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 67.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 116,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after buying an additional 46,939 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 263,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,611,000 after purchasing an additional 69,677 shares during the period. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 914.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 182,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 164,815 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc (NYSE:MWA) manufactures products and provides services used in the treatment, transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. Its customers include municipalities, water utilities, distributors, contractors, and industrial organizations.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings, repair and connection products, and related infrastructure equipment. Through its Echologics business, Mueller also provides acoustic leak-detection technologies and other solutions designed to help utilities monitor and manage water distribution systems.

Mueller Water Products traces its history to Mueller Co, which was founded in 1857.