Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Short Interest Update

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 824,963 shares, a decline of 45.1% from the June 15th total of 1,502,348 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 789,926 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTS. KeyCorp upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $358.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $379.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.90.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.8%

WTS stock traded down $6.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $347.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 244,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,331. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Watts Water Technologies has a 52-week low of $246.55 and a 52-week high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The company’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.03 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,697,863. This represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advyzon Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.