Oppenheimer Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Oppenheimer in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $27.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $26.00. Oppenheimer’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 6.8 %

Shares of MWA stock traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.68. 2,442,287 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,110,083. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.81. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $12.59 and a fifty-two week high of $25.71.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $10,630,326.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,630,326.66. 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. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 121,616 shares of company stock worth $2,390,796. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth approximately $671,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter worth $1,487,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 189.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 114,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 75,144 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 364.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after purchasing an additional 315,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 256.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 30,475 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.