Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.00 to $29.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 1.8 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $27.33 on Thursday. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $13.67 and a 52 week high of $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.35.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $967,848.66. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $209,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 86,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 4,030 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 48.4% during the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 199,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,569,000 after buying an additional 64,975 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 20.3% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 320,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,948,000 after acquiring an additional 53,968 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.