Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has received an average brokerage rating of "Hold", with four analysts recommending a hold and one a buy.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings per share of $3.09, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.68 and marking a 7.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Watts Water Technologies declared a $0.52 quarterly dividend, providing a 0.7% yield with a payout ratio of 22.37%.

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $253.80.

WTS has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,457 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 10,796 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,655,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,416 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the technology company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $279.90. 23,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 197,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $269.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.45. Watts Water Technologies has a 1-year low of $177.59 and a 1-year high of $287.89.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

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.