Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays started coverage on Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock opened at $26.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.64 and a quick ratio of 3.08. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $22.74 and a 1 year high of $31.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.03.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. Analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.33 per share, for a total transaction of $29,965.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,882.18. This represents a 4.98% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul Mcandrew sold 40,000 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 42,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. This represents a 48.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter worth $1,517,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,400,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,222,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 123,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,939,000 after buying an additional 45,742 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the first quarter valued at about $1,571,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mueller Water Products

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.