Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus increased its price target for Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) from $290.00 to $300.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.55%, alongside a "buy" rating.
• Despite the positive outlook from Stifel Nicolaus, Northcoast Research downgraded the stock from "buy" to "neutral," reflecting mixed analyst sentiments with a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Shares of Watts Water Technologies saw a 2.3% increase on Friday, trading at $266.55, with notable insider sales totaling $3.84 million in the past three months.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) had its target price raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $290.00 to $300.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

Separately, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of WTS traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $262.67. The stock had a trading volume of 295,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,536. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Watts Water Technologies has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $269.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $249.85 and its 200 day moving average is $225.96. The firm has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The business had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.37%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,616 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,046 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.