Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $22.90 and last traded at $22.81, with a volume of 218662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.90 and a 200-day moving average of $18.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.064 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $2,751,046.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,065,549.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,898.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $2,751,046.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,065,549.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 32,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is 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.