Mueller Water Products (MWA) Competitors

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) and Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Is FELE or MWA a better dividend stock?

Franklin Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Franklin Electric pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mueller Water Products pays out 28.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Franklin Electric has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Mueller Water Products has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Franklin Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to FELE or MWA?

In the previous week, Mueller Water Products had 18 more articles in the media than Franklin Electric. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for Mueller Water Products and 7 mentions for Franklin Electric. Franklin Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.73 beat Mueller Water Products' score of 0.95 indicating that Franklin Electric is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Franklin Electric	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Mueller Water Products	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, FELE or MWA?

Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mueller Water Products has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FELE or MWA?

80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.7% of Mueller Water Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Mueller Water Products shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend FELE or MWA?

Franklin Electric presently has a consensus target price of $107.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.67%. Mueller Water Products has a consensus target price of $28.33, suggesting a potential upside of 7.94%. Given Franklin Electric's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Franklin Electric is more favorable than Mueller Water Products.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Mueller Water Products	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is FELE or MWA more profitable?

Mueller Water Products has a net margin of 10.67% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.71%. Mueller Water Products' return on equity of 20.89% beat Franklin Electric's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Electric	8.71%	14.05%	9.47%
Mueller Water Products	10.67%	20.89%	10.82%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, FELE or MWA?

Franklin Electric has higher revenue and earnings than Mueller Water Products. Franklin Electric is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mueller Water Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Franklin Electric	$2.02B	2.11	$180.31M	$3.87	24.76
Mueller Water Products	$1.31B	3.12	$115.90M	$0.94	27.93

Summary

Mueller Water Products beats Franklin Electric on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.