The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price target upped by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.00 to $29.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.11% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MWA. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA opened at $27.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $13.67 and a 1 year high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.