Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Upgraded to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $229.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $219.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.06% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $197.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $206.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,621,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 124.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth about $343,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.