Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MWA. TD Cowen cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MWA stock opened at $21.24 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $12.13 and a fifty-two week high of $21.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.7% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,193,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,642,000. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 43.5% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 256,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after acquiring an additional 77,810 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the first quarter worth $452,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.