Analysts Set Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Target Price at $21.60

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,898.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $21.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.28. 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 has a 52-week low of $12.13 and a 52-week high of $23.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

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.