Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) hit a new 52-week high during 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 equities research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.67 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,065,549.86. 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 the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. 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. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $11,065,549.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Diversified Trust Co raised its position 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 worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in 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 valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 32,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

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.