Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $38.23 and last traded at $38.20, with a volume of 251997 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZWS has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.17.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.39, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 8.87%. The firm had revenue of $410.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Insider Transactions at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 15,600 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.03, for a total transaction of $515,268.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 385,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,717,111.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 10,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $351,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 374,982 shares in the company, valued at $13,124,370. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 15,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.03, for a total transaction of $515,268.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 385,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,717,111.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,486 shares of company stock worth $3,338,593. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZWS. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,619,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,161,000 after purchasing an additional 868,748 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,695,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,846,000 after purchasing an additional 465,701 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 8,801,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,645,000 after buying an additional 346,412 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 2.1% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 13,138,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,286,000 after buying an additional 265,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 1,300.0% in the first quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 252,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,434,000 after buying an additional 234,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.33% of the company’s stock.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.