Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Mueller Water Products has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from four analysts, with an average 1-year price target of $31.25. Recent firm opinions were mixed, ranging from neutral/sector perform to outperform and buy ratings.
• Insider activity was split: Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,166 shares, while SVP Todd P. Helms sold 10,720 shares. Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and institutions holding 91.68% of the stock.
• The stock recently traded at $25.21, below its 52-week high of $31.00, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equal to a 1.1% annualized yield.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the four research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.25.

Several research firms have weighed in on MWA. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 target price on Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.75 per share, for a total transaction of $30,024.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,897.25. This trade represents a 5.16% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 10,720 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.61, for a total value of $295,979.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,209.97. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE MWA opened at $25.21 on Friday. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $22.74 and a fifty-two week high of $31.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.57 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.11% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 21.37%.

About Mueller Water Products

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.