Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Price Target Raised to $24.00

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 33.26% from the stock’s current price.

MWA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.75.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA opened at $18.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.54. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $12.11 and a 1-year high of $18.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $353.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.62 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.09, for a total transaction of $42,252.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,408.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.09, for a total transaction of $42,252.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,408.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,892.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 1,340.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 4,422 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.