Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.50.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ZWS shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, VP Jeffrey J. Lavalle sold 3,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total transaction of $122,617.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 35,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,386,771.30. This trade represents a 8.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David J. Pauli sold 4,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total value of $159,340.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,443.80. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,202 shares of company stock valued at $5,813,358 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,441,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,585,000 after buying an additional 2,119,777 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,619,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,161,000 after acquiring an additional 868,748 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 37.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,695,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,846,000 after acquiring an additional 465,701 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 4.1% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 8,801,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,412 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,947,000. 83.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:ZWS opened at $37.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 47.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions has a 12 month low of $27.55 and a 12 month high of $41.15.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $410.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.15 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 8.87%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 45.57%.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions 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.