Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $16.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $12.11 and a twelve month high of $16.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.69 and its 200-day moving average is $14.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. The business had revenue of $256.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.64 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.42 per share, with a total value of $154,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 80,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,898.26. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total value of $103,997.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $534,141.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,003,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,048,000 after purchasing an additional 147,482 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 13,161,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $189,528,000 after buying an additional 1,022,785 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,498,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,981,000 after buying an additional 974,333 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,740,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,069,000 after buying an additional 430,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,417,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,006,000 after buying an additional 138,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

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.