Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer lowered Mueller Water Products’ price target to $30 from $32 but maintained its “outperform” rating, implying roughly 39% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat reports an overall “Hold” consensus rating and an average price target of $27, with targets ranging from $24 to $35.
• MWA shares traded at $21.55, near their 12-month low, while the company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations with earnings of $0.50 per share versus the $0.39 consensus estimate.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by Oppenheimer from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Oppenheimer's target price suggests a potential upside of 39.21% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MWA. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.55. 374,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,260. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $20.90 and a twelve month high of $31.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.64.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $395.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 15.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian Healy bought 1,376 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $29,928.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $572,503.50. This trade represents a 5.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total value of $291,923.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $746,865.52. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,172,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,571,000. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,522,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth approximately $3,283,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the first quarter worth approximately $1,516,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc develops and manufactures products used to build, maintain and monitor water transmission and distribution systems. Its offerings help utilities and other infrastructure operators control water flow, connect and repair pipelines, manage pressure and identify leaks.

The company's product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings and repair products, metering and monitoring systems, leak-detection technologies, and related flow-control equipment.

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