Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $18.99 and last traded at $18.25, with a volume of 546509 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.55.
The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $353.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.62 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 EPS.
Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.064 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 52.00%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently commented on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised Mueller Water Products from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.00.
Get Our Latest Report on MWA
Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products
In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $623,892.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.09, for a total transaction of $42,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,408.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,892.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 929,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,787,000 after buying an additional 22,724 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth approximately $299,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,101,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,963,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 9.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,287,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,323,000 after purchasing an additional 107,514 shares during the period. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.6% during the third quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 102,790 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.
Mueller Water Products Stock Performance
The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.50.
About Mueller Water Products
(
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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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