Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.29.

ZWS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $36.00 price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In related news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 25,921 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.19, for a total value of $964,001.99. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 94,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,500,769.08. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David J. Pauli sold 2,706 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.11, for a total value of $100,419.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,248.92. The trade was a 4.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 3,687.2% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 77.4% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company's stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE ZWS traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 798,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,115. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.01. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions has a 12 month low of $27.74 and a 12 month high of $41.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $388.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.87 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 14.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.36%.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Company Profile

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.