Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $24.57 and last traded at $24.11, with a volume of 60360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The company had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total transaction of $175,472.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,898.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at $691,898.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 121,616 shares of company stock worth $2,390,796 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.