Royal Bank of Canada Raises Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Price Target to $23.00

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $20.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MWA. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $20.16. 982,064 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.67 and a 200 day moving average of $16.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $12.13 and a 1-year high of $21.02.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 2,650 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,827. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at $50,827. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $976,247.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,648.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 296.7% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 8,403 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $743,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 195,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 60,063 shares during the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $872,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 18.0% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 238,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,277,000 after buying an additional 36,350 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.