Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Receives $253.80 Average Target Price 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%.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $253.80.

Several brokerages have commented on WTS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 97.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,176 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,457 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $380,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $235,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

WTS traded down $4.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $280.88. 546,493 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,343. The company has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $269.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $177.59 and a one year high of $287.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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