Analysts Set Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) Price Target at $38.00

Key Points

• Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has received an average rating of "Hold" from six analysts, with a price target of $38.00 over the next 12 months.
• Insiders at the company have sold substantial shares recently, with Director Timothy J. Jahnke selling almost 10,000 shares for approximately $444,156.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share on September 5th, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZWS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sudhanshu Chhabra sold 108,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total transaction of $4,750,437.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 94,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,731.30. This trade represents a 53.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 9,857 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,930 shares of company stock worth $6,501,529 over the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZWS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the second quarter worth about $64,266,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the first quarter worth about $50,344,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 22.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,933,224 shares of the company's stock worth $180,408,000 after purchasing an additional 916,850 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 74.1% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,715,496 shares of the company's stock worth $56,577,000 after purchasing an additional 729,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the first quarter worth about $21,273,000. 83.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ZWS traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,925. The company's 50-day moving average is $41.19 and its 200-day moving average is $36.59. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a 52-week low of $27.74 and a 52-week high of $46.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.22, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.07. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The firm had revenue of $444.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor's dividend payout ratio 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.