Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) to "Buy"

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $229.00 target price on the technology company's stock, up from their previous target price of $219.00. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.15% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS traded down $4.85 on Wednesday, hitting $192.19. The company had a trading volume of 30,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company's fifty day moving average price is $206.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. As a group, analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $55,411,000 after acquiring an additional 12,159 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,507 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 264.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,716,000 after buying an additional 7,150 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.