Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $220.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 99.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE WTS traded down $3.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $220.80. 128,992 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,486. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $208.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.