Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor $ZWS Stock: Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Position

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding increased its Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stake by 133.8% in the third quarter, reaching 71,679 shares valued at approximately $3.33 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.33% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $57.00. Recent targets range from $54 to $61, while Zacks upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy.”
• ZWS was trading at $46.97, near the lower portion of its 52-week range, after reporting quarterly EPS of $0.50 and revenue of $491 million—both above analyst expectations. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, yielding approximately 0.9%.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Free Report) by 133.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,679 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,023 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor were worth $3,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZWS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,241,345,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the second quarter worth about $278,160,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the second quarter valued at approximately $172,287,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,563,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,913,000 after buying an additional 8,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZWS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $58.00 price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ZWS opened at $46.97 on Monday. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a one year low of $43.06 and a one year high of $55.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 3.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $47.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.42.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $491.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.04 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 15.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor news, Director Jacques Butler acquired 2,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.60 per share, for a total transaction of $99,993.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 37,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,859,355.20. This trade represents a 5.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation NYSE: ZWS is a water management and plumbing products company serving commercial, institutional, industrial and residential markets. Its products are designed to support the collection, control, conservation, treatment and delivery of water in buildings and other infrastructure.

The company offers plumbing and drainage products, including drains, fixtures, faucets, flush valves, backflow prevention devices, water control systems and related accessories.

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