Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Shares Down 6.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Mueller Water Products experienced a stock price decline of 6.4%, trading at $25.07 after hitting a low of $25.02, with a significant decrease in trading volume of 74% compared to average sessions.
• Despite the stock's decline, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mueller from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with analysts currently assigning an average target price of $28.33.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.34 for the last quarter, slightly below expectations, although revenue increased by 6.6% year-over-year to $380.3 million.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 6.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $25.02 and last traded at $25.07. 456,601 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,725,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.33.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.86 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $380.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.82 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,110 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,160.20. The trade was a 7.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 8,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.37, for a total value of $227,335.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 761 shares in the company, valued at $20,067.57. The trade was a 91.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,914 shares of company stock valued at $889,727 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,795,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $503,201,000 after buying an additional 2,840,895 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,825,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $140,042,000 after buying an additional 945,258 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,535,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $133,061,000 after buying an additional 2,203,088 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,401,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $137,296,000 after buying an additional 2,152,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,449,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,987,000 after buying an additional 796,596 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.

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