Xylem (NYSE:XYL) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $157.00 to $162.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Xylem traded as high as $138.68 and last traded at $138.41, with a volume of 421892 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $137.21.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on XYL. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Xylem from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Raymond James raised Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Xylem in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Xylem from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.70.

Insider Activity

In other Xylem news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $122,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xylem

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Xylem in the fourth quarter valued at about $198,207,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $187,207,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Xylem by 1,503.7% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,649,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $188,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,043 shares in the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Xylem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,945,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Xylem by 35.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,182,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,762,000 after buying an additional 1,086,102 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a PE ratio of 49.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.21.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. Xylem had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Xylem Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.