Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Price Target to $23.00

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $20.00 to $23.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MWA. Baird R W raised shares of Mueller Water Products to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 2.3 %

MWA stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.87. 1,384,293 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,266,320. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $12.13 and a one year high of $21.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 3.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.02.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at $50,827. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total value of $127,101.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,896.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,827. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the first quarter worth about $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 4,422 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the first quarter valued at about $80,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

About Mueller Water Products

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.