Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $23.27 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.06. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,408.48. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at $552,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $342,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,362,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $362,000. 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.