Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $30.36 and last traded at $30.29, with a volume of 43820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MWA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 target price on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.33.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 4.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.17.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 13.83%.The company had revenue of $318.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 15,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total transaction of $371,614.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 85,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,115,276.54. This represents a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.41 per share, for a total transaction of $27,461.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,549.25. This represents a 6.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 34,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 16,740 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 173.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 29,707 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 9,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 89,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 34,653 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.