Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $271.40.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.7%

WTS opened at $281.14 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $274.25 and its 200 day moving average is $266.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.23.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.21. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 13.79%.The business had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.20 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total transaction of $1,948,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,621.90. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,128,936 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,648 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.4% in the third quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,457 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 335 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.