Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor $ZWS Shares Purchased by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors sharply increased its Zurn Elkay stake by 1,342.4% in the third quarter, adding 146,720 shares to reach 157,650 shares valued at about $7.3 million.
• Zurn Elkay beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.52 versus $0.50 expected and revenue of $495.1 million; revenue rose 8.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.11 to $0.13 per share.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $54.67. Shares opened at $43.47, near their one-year low of $42.89.

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Free Report) by 1,342.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,650 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,720 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor worth $7,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 843 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 83.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZWS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.67.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:ZWS opened at $43.47 on Friday. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a 1 year low of $42.89 and a 1 year high of $55.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.08.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $495.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $493.36 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a return on equity of 18.46% and a net margin of 15.91%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacques Butler purchased 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.60 per share, with a total value of $99,993.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 37,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,859,355.20. This represents a 5.68% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation NYSE: ZWS is a manufacturer of products and systems used to manage, conserve and protect water in commercial, institutional, industrial and residential buildings. The company provides plumbing and water-management solutions designed to support water distribution, drainage, safety, hygiene and efficiency.

Its product portfolio includes commercial faucets, flush valves, fixtures, drains, plumbing specialties, backflow-prevention devices, water coolers, bottle-filling stations, water filtration systems and related accessories.

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