Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Mueller Water Products, with one sell, two hold and two buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $30.20, versus a recent share price of $25.48.
• Mueller Water Products exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $0.50 per share versus the $0.39 consensus and revenue of $395.9 million, up 4.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equating to a 1.1% yield, while institutional investors own 91.68% of outstanding shares. Recent insider activity included a director purchase and a CEO sale conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

Shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.20.

Several brokerages recently commented on MWA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,183 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.33 per share, with a total value of $29,965.39. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $631,882.18. The trade was a 4.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul Mcandrew sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total transaction of $1,055,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,556 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,052.84. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MWA. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,165,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $146,871,000 after purchasing an additional 250,461 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $165,948,000 after buying an additional 1,530,193 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,613,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,075,000 after buying an additional 22,056 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,262,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,717,000 after buying an additional 37,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,241,253 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,207,000 after buying an additional 182,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $25.48 on Friday. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $22.74 and a 12-month high of $31.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.03.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $395.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is 19.86%.

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.

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