Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp. (NYSE:ZWS) reached a new 52-week high of $47.92 during trading, with the last transaction recorded at $47.76.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold for Zurn Elkay, with two firms giving it a "buy" rating; Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target from $50.00 to $53.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, yielding 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 35.64%.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $52.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor traded as high as $47.92 and last traded at $47.76, with a volume of 24800 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.28.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Two investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Insider Transactions at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 108,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $874,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 180,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,871,400. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 168,930 shares of company stock worth $7,452,507 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 249.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 3,687.2% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 33.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,799 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company's stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 46.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.62 and a 200 day moving average of $37.63.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $444.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.55 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 10.78%.The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.64%.

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.