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 research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released 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 suggest a potential upside of 19.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WTS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $374.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.4%

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $349.58. The stock had a trading volume of 62,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,250. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $363.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $336.63.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTS. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 769.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 211.3% during the first 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 period. Costello Asset Management INC grew its position 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 valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 352.9% during the first 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 period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% during the second 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 period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.