Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Mueller Water Products a consensus “Hold” rating: Of five analysts, two recommend buying, two recommend holding and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $30.20 versus the reported share price of $23.91.
• Mueller Water Products exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.50 versus the $0.39 consensus and revenue of $395.9 million, up 4.1% year over year. Analysts project full-year EPS of $1.53.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% yield, while insiders sold 52,598 shares worth approximately $1.36 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.20.

MWA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price target on Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays started 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.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $23.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.01. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $22.74 and a 1 year high of $31.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $25.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.56.

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

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.86%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $291,923.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $746,865.52. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $1,055,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. This trade represents a 48.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 worth $1,360,685 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 914 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 is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company's portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company's operations are organized around two primary business segments.

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