Critical Survey: Watts Water Technologies (WTS) vs. Its Rivals

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) is one of 93 public companies in the “Building Products” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Watts Water Technologies to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Watts Water Technologies and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Watts Water Technologies	14.34%	19.16%	13.78%
Watts Water Technologies Competitors	3.69%	-26.96%	5.10%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Watts Water Technologies and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Watts Water Technologies	0	6	4	1	2.55
Watts Water Technologies Competitors	740	3935	5067	239	2.48

Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $369.80, indicating a potential upside of 6.64%. As a group, “Building Products” companies have a potential upside of 31.92%. Given Watts Water Technologies’ peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Watts Water Technologies has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.0% of Watts Water Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.6% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Watts Water Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Watts Water Technologies pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies pays out 18.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Building Products” companies pay a dividend yield of 7.2% and pay out 37.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Watts Water Technologies has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Watts Water Technologies and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Watts Water Technologies	$2.44 billion	$340.80 million	26.00
Watts Water Technologies Competitors	$4.00 billion	$4.65 billion	36.47

Watts Water Technologies’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Watts Water Technologies. Watts Water Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Watts Water Technologies has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Watts Water Technologies’ peers have a beta of 1.07, indicating that their average share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Watts Water Technologies beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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. The company offers residential and commercial flow control and protection products, including backflow preventers, water pressure regulators, temperature and pressure relief valves, thermostatic mixing valves, leak detection and protection products, commercial washroom solutions, and emergency safety products and equipment for plumbing and hot water applications. It also provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and gas products comprising commercial boilers; water heaters and heating solutions; hydronic and electric heating systems for under-floor radiant applications; custom heat and hot water solutions; hydronic pump groups for boiler manufacturers and alternative energy control packages; and flexible stainless-steel connectors for natural and liquid propane gas in commercial food service and residential applications. In addition, the company offers drainage and water re-use products, such as drainage products, engineered rainwater harvesting solutions for commercial, industrial, marine, and residential applications; connected roof drain systems; and water quality products that include point-of-use and point-of-entry water filtration, conditioning, and scale prevention systems for commercial, marine, and residential applications. The company sells its products to plumbing, heating, and mechanical wholesale distributors and dealers; original equipment manufacturers; specialty product distributors; and do-it-yourself and retail chains, as well as wholesalers and private label accounts. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts.