Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Upgraded to Buy at Northcoast Research

Key Points

• Northcoast Research upgraded Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) from neutral to buy and kept a $75 price target, implying about 30% upside from the current share price.
• The stock was trading down about 1.5% at $57.49 when the article was published, with a market cap of $12.71 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.05.
• Mueller reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.08 versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $1.19 billion beating expectations, while revenue rose 19.3% year over year.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Northcoast Research from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $75.00 price objective on the industrial products company's stock. Northcoast Research's price objective points to a potential upside of 30.46% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MLI. Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

Mueller Industries Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MLI opened at $57.49 on Thursday. Mueller Industries has a 12-month low of $41.17 and a 12-month high of $70.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.13.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 19.37% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Industries

In related news, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 206,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.64, for a total value of $14,177,389.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,609,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,506,231.19. The trade was a 11.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,515,780 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,207,212,000 after acquiring an additional 260,306 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 0.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,594,217 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $619,839,000 after buying an additional 33,248 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Industries by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,054,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $465,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468,872 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,642,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,359,000 after purchasing an additional 624,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,528,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $290,216,000 after purchasing an additional 679,958 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.50% of the company's stock.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of copper, brass, aluminum and plastic products. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company serves a wide range of markets including HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), refrigeration, plumbing, industrial gas, automotive and agricultural sectors. Its product portfolio encompasses copper and plastic tubing, brass fittings, valves and related components designed for fluid handling and temperature control applications.

The company operates through multiple business segments, including the Plumbing & Refrigeration segment, which supplies copper and plastic tubing, fittings and valves for residential and commercial construction markets; the Industrial Metals & Mining segment, which provides aluminum shapes and specialty brass products for industrial applications; and the Climate segment, which focuses on copper tubing and components for air conditioning and refrigeration systems.

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