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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $276.96. 54,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 198,636. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $264.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.91. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $177.59 and a one year high of $285.90. 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 (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, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $612.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the sale, the director owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,140 shares of the technology company's stock worth $503,711,000 after purchasing an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 804,050 shares of the technology company's stock worth $197,728,000 after purchasing an additional 138,034 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 748,328 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,724 shares of the technology company's stock worth $134,188,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

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.