Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Xylem Call Options (NYSE:XYL)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity was seen in Xylem, with traders buying 3,809 call options on Friday — about 250% above the typical daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall: Xylem carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with eight Buy ratings and six Hold ratings and an average price target of $153.31.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, posting $1.12 EPS versus $1.09 expected, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year to $2.12 billion.

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 3,809 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 250% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,087 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on XYL shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Xylem from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xylem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Xylem from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xylem from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Xylem from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.31.

Insider Activity at Xylem

In other news, Director Jerome A. Peribere purchased 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.61 per share, with a total value of $141,098.10. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,172,841.49. This represents a 4.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 4,269 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $501,436.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,443.30. This trade represents a 54.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xylem

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Xylem during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Xylem in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Xylem in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Xylem during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Xylem during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE:XYL traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $124.23. 1,065,672 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,995,928. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $113.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.48. Xylem has a one year low of $105.29 and a one year high of $154.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.03.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.03. Xylem had a return on equity of 11.26% and a net margin of 10.79%.The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.600 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Xylem will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.79%.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc NYSE: XYL is a global water technology company that designs, manufactures and services engineered systems and equipment for the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water. Its product portfolio spans pumps and pumping systems, valves, filtration and disinfection equipment, sensors and analytical instruments, and digital solutions for monitoring and control of water infrastructure. Xylem serves the full water cycle with offerings for water and wastewater utilities, industrial customers, commercial and residential buildings, and agricultural applications.

The company was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2011 following a corporate spin-off from ITT Corporation and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.

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