Recent Research Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Mueller Water Products (MWA)

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Mueller Water Products (NYSE: MWA):

• 5/9/2024 – Mueller Water Products was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 5/8/2024 – Mueller Water Products had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $17.00 to $20.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock.
• 5/8/2024 – Mueller Water Products had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $18.00 to $24.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 5/8/2024 – Mueller Water Products was upgraded by analysts at Baird R W to a “hold” rating.
• 5/1/2024 – Mueller Water Products was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 4/18/2024 – Mueller Water Products was upgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating. They now have a $19.00 price target on the stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of MWA traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.95. The stock had a trading volume of 608,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,484. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.04. Mueller Water Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.11 and a one year high of $19.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $353.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.62 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 40.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total value of $103,997.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,141.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total value of $103,997.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,141.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.42 per share, with a total value of $154,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,898.26. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,207,346. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 694,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,175,000 after purchasing an additional 83,567 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 13,525 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,193,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,143,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,571,000 after purchasing an additional 15,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.