Xylem (NYSE:XYL) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $157.00 to $162.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Xylem traded as high as $138.68 and last traded at $138.41, with a volume of 421892 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $137.21.

XYL has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Xylem from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Xylem in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Xylem from $126.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of Xylem stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total value of $293,270.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,032.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $122,890.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,682.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xylem

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xylem by 3.5% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. AtonRa Partners increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. AtonRa Partners now owns 4,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Xylem by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten Group Inc. grew its stake in Xylem by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 31,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xylem Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.08.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 8.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xylem Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Xylem

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.