Royal Bank Of Canada Reaffirms Sector Perform Rating for Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS)

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $417.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.02% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings raised Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.72 on Wednesday, reaching $350.37. 29,760 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,000. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $260.00 and a fifty-two week high of $394.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $363.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $336.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.15. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The business had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,579.85. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 769.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 211.3% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 900.0% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 352.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.