Wall Street Zen Downgrades Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) to Buy

Key Points

• Watts Water Technologies has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, Stifel Nicolaus raised its target price for Watts Water Technologies from $290 to $300, signaling ongoing confidence in the company's performance.
• In its recent quarterly earnings report, Watts Water posted $3.09 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and demonstrated a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.8%.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE WTS traded up $5.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $284.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 130,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,708. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $265.95 and a 200 day moving average of $236.69. Watts Water Technologies has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $285.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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%. Watts Water Technologies's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.