Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

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 reached 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZWS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $36.00 target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.00.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Trading Up 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.34. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $444.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.55 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 108,930 shares of the business's 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 owned 94,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,113,731.30. The trade was a 53.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 9,857 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $444,156.42. Following the sale, the director owned 328,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,823,117.84. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,930 shares of company stock valued at $6,501,529 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 53.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 30,127 shares of the company's stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 10,521 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 27.9% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 134,197 shares of the company's stock worth $4,908,000 after buying an additional 29,273 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 481,853 shares of the company's stock worth $17,621,000 after buying an additional 28,836 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 409.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 16,719 shares of the company's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 13,435 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 11,466 shares during the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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