Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Oppenheimer

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price objective lowered by Oppenheimer from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

MWA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $21.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.01. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $20.90 and a 52-week high of $31.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 19.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Healy acquired 1,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $29,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 26,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,503.50. This trade represents a 5.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $291,923.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $746,865.52. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 34.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $165,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,193 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 58.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,217,000 after acquiring an additional 714,913 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the second quarter worth approximately $28,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 30.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 888,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,438,000 after purchasing an additional 205,269 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 354.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 588,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,187,000 after purchasing an additional 459,393 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc develops and manufactures products used to build, maintain and monitor water transmission and distribution systems. Its offerings help utilities and other infrastructure operators control water flow, connect and repair pipelines, manage pressure and identify leaks.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings and repair products, metering and monitoring systems, leak-detection technologies, and related flow-control equipment.