Xylem (NYSE:XYL) Shares Up 6.4% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) shares traded up 6.4% during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $131.93 and last traded at $130.65. 367,145 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,206,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.80.

The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 9.85%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on XYL shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Xylem from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Xylem from $148.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xylem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Xylem by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xylem during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,051,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Xylem in the 4th quarter valued at about $190,000. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. grew its position in Xylem by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 21,129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Xylem by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,326,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,865,000 after acquiring an additional 698,745 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.58.

Xylem Company Profile

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.