Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Mueller Water Products share price gapped up from $23.94 to $25.79, currently trading at $26.17 with a trading volume of over 103,000 shares.
• Analysts have upgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a consensus price target of $26.25.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.067 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 28.57%.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.94, but opened at $25.79. Mueller Water Products shares last traded at $26.17, with a volume of 103,103 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 6.5%

The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.42 and its 200-day moving average is $25.05. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.18.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $380.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 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 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.74 per share, with a total value of $27,461.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $389,160.20. This trade represents a 7.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 7,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $181,228.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the first quarter valued at about $502,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 354.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,107,000 after acquiring an additional 248,733 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 45.6% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 52,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 16,400 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the first quarter valued at about $287,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 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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