Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE WTS opened at $266.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $269.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $250.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 10,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,416 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.