Watts Water Technologies’ (WTS) Sector Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $417.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WTS. TD Cowen increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.2%

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $350.25. The stock had a trading volume of 54,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,224. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $336.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.15. Watts Water Technologies has a 12 month low of $260.00 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $763.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 769.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 211.3% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 352.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs and manufactures products that help manage the safety, efficiency, and quality of water in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial systems. Its offerings are used in plumbing, heating, water distribution, and drainage applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes backflow prevention devices, pressure regulators, safety and relief valves, water quality and conditioning equipment, leak detection products, drainage systems, and hydronic and HVAC components.