Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Short Interest Down 20.8% in October

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, a decline of 20.8% from the October 15th total of 3,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,375.60. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MWA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE MWA traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.31. 874,372 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,987. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $13.08 and a twelve month high of $26.28. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.09 and its 200-day moving average is $20.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

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.