Fernwood Investment Management LLC Takes $539,000 Position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZWS. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 178.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 732.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of ZWS stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,859. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.66 and its 200 day moving average is $32.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 46.94, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. has a twelve month low of $27.55 and a twelve month high of $38.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $410.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.15 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 13.30%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s payout ratio is 45.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.17.

Insider Activity at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 15,600 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.03, for a total value of $515,268.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 385,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,717,111.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 52,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.55, for a total transaction of $1,720,300.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 80,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,608,915.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 15,600 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.03, for a total value of $515,268.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 385,017 shares in the company, valued at $12,717,111.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,486 shares of company stock worth $3,338,593 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Profile

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.