Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Price Down 5.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell about 5.2% to $27.55 on Monday with 578,084 shares traded, roughly 50% below the average session volume, after closing at $29.07 the prior day.
• Analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.33 (Oppenheimer $32, Robert W. Baird $33, RBC $29).
• Mueller beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.29 vs. $0.27, revenue $318.2M, +4.6% YoY), has a 1.0% dividend yield ($0.07 quarterly), a P/E of 21.8 and a PEG of 1.34, indicating modest growth at a mid-teens valuation.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) shares traded down 5.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $27.62 and last traded at $27.5470. 578,084 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,148,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MWA. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $32.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 target price on Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 5.5%

The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.45. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The business had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack bought 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.58 per share, for a total transaction of $739,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 10,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.61, for a total transaction of $295,979.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,209.97. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MWA. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 4.2% during 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 buying an additional 250,461 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,506,486 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $107,344,000 after buying an additional 350,837 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,613,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,075,000 after buying an additional 22,056 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.2% during the fourth 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. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.0% during the fourth 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. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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