Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives $22.20 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.20.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE:MWA opened at $21.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $13.49 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 341.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.