Xylem (NYSE:XYL) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Xylem Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high after UBS Group raised their price target from $164 to $168, maintaining a buy rating.
• The company's earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.26, surpassing expectations of $1.15, with revenues of $2.30 billion for the quarter.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 87.96% of Xylem's stock, with several firms notably increasing their positions recently.

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $164.00 to $168.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Xylem traded as high as $145.33 and last traded at $143.41, with a volume of 1082407 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $143.97.

XYL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Xylem from $149.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Xylem in a research report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $148.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $152.00 price objective (up from $137.00) on shares of Xylem in a report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial raised Xylem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Xylem from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XYL. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Xylem by 84.9% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 220 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in Xylem during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Xylem during the second quarter worth $31,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 52.0% in the first quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Xylem by 950.0% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Xylem Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.54 and a 200-day moving average of $124.81. The company has a market capitalization of $34.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.11. Xylem had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xylem Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Xylem's dividend payout ratio is 41.56%.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.