Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp shares reached a new 52-week high of $46.60, with a recent trading price of $46.56 and significant trading volume of 782,966 shares.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on the stock, with Stifel Nicolaus raising their target price to $50.00 and two analysts rating it as a "Buy," while four gave a "Hold" rating.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.42, exceeding estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.9%.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.60 and last traded at $46.56, with a volume of 782966 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZWS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $36.00 price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Trading Down 1.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 10.78%.The firm had revenue of $444.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

In other news, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 9,857 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $444,156.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 328,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,823,117.84. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 108,930 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total value of $4,750,437.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 94,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,113,731.30. This trade represents a 53.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,930 shares of company stock valued at $6,501,529. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZWS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 2nd quarter worth about $64,266,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 1st quarter worth about $50,344,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,933,224 shares of the company's stock worth $180,408,000 after acquiring an additional 916,850 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 74.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,715,496 shares of the company's stock worth $56,577,000 after acquiring an additional 729,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the 1st quarter worth about $21,273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company's stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor 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.