Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.11.

XYL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James raised shares of Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Xylem in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th.

Xylem Price Performance

Xylem stock opened at $127.16 on Friday. Xylem has a 12-month low of $87.59 and a 12-month high of $130.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Xylem will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of Xylem stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Xylem news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of Xylem stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,032.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $122,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xylem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,048,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,207,683,000 after acquiring an additional 187,847 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Xylem by 5.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,219,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,221,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Xylem by 1.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,692,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,357,000 after purchasing an additional 121,367 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Xylem by 11.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,528,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,267,000 after purchasing an additional 466,911 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Xylem by 35.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,182,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,102 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Xylem Company Profile

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.