Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Trading 3.1% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) rose 3.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $22.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Mueller Water Products traded as high as $18.13 and last traded at $18.11. Approximately 49,784 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 1,204,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.56.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 22nd. Baird R W raised shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.18 per share, with a total value of $50,827.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,827. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $976,247.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.18 per share, with a total value 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 28,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 2,197 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $353.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.62 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

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.