Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $17.50.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MWA stock opened at $16.23 on Wednesday. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $12.11 and a fifty-two week high of $16.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business had revenue of $256.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,898.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Arsdell Stephen C. Van bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.42 per share, for a total transaction of $154,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 80,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,898.26. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,892.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,458 shares of company stock worth $1,052,260. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the first quarter worth about $408,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 76,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 11,463 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 12.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 193,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 21,604 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the first quarter worth about $170,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mueller Water Products

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.