Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Upgraded at Oppenheimer

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Oppenheimer from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $19.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. Oppenheimer's target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.53% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.50.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $15.90. 2,026,350 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,439. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.29. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $12.11 and a one year high of $16.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.57 and a 200 day moving average of $14.19.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $256.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total transaction of $103,997.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $534,141.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.42 per share, with a total value of $154,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,898.26. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,419 shares of company stock worth $1,135,416. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the 1st quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 113,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 30,700 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 256,695 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 77,810 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,183,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company's stock.

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.