Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Stock Price Target Cut by Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker cut Mueller Industries’ price target from $80 to $76 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying approximately 39.6% upside from the stock’s $54.43 price.
• Shares fell 5.4% to $54.43, while quarterly EPS of $1.00 missed the $1.08 consensus estimate; revenue rose 31.6% year over year to $1.42 billion, exceeding expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with three Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $75.50, although insiders sold roughly $18.9 million of stock over the past three months.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Freedom Broker from $80.00 to $76.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Freedom Broker's target price suggests a potential upside of 39.63% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mueller Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Northcoast Research raised Mueller Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Industries has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.50.

Mueller Industries Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of Mueller Industries stock traded down $3.11 on Thursday, hitting $54.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,911,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,534,676. Mueller Industries has a one year low of $51.20 and a one year high of $71.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.59. The stock has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 31.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Industries news, Director Scott Goldman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.08, for a total transaction of $128,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 79,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,109,354.72. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.44, for a total value of $13,688,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,598,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $109,425,294. This represents a 11.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 275,444 shares of company stock valued at $18,885,398 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Industries in the second quarter worth $1,437,555,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Industries during the second quarter valued at $244,156,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $131,286,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 136.5% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,674,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $185,561,000 after buying an additional 966,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $95,120,000. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc is a manufacturer of metal and plastic products used in plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire protection, water distribution, and industrial applications. Its product portfolio includes copper, brass, aluminum, and steel tubing; fittings; valves; copper and plastic piping systems; and related components.

The company sells products primarily through wholesale distributors, original equipment manufacturers, building-supply outlets, and other industrial channels.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.