Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Mueller Water Products fell to a new 52-week low of $21.68, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The stock has a $3.41 billion market capitalization and a 1.3% dividend yield.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $28.40, while RBC downgraded the stock to “Underperform” with a $21 target and Barclays initiated coverage with an “Underweight” rating.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.50 in EPS versus $0.39 expected and revenue of $395.9 million, up 4.1% year over year. However, insiders sold more shares than they bought over the past three months, while institutional investors own 91.68% of the stock.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.68 and last traded at $21.9160, with a volume of 5011237 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MWA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price target on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays started coverage on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.40.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.64 and a quick ratio of 3.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.13.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.11. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The firm had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 19.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total transaction of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 42,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. The trade was a 48.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.33 per share, with a total value of $29,965.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,946 shares in the company, valued at $631,882.18. The trade was a 4.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 52,598 shares of company stock worth $1,360,685 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 10.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc designs and manufactures products used to support the operation, maintenance, and monitoring of water distribution and wastewater infrastructure. Its offerings include gate, butterfly, and check valves; fire hydrants; pipe fittings; and related products used to control and manage the flow of water through municipal and other utility systems.

The company also provides technologies and services intended to help utilities monitor their networks, identify leaks, improve asset management, and enhance operational efficiency.

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