Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,121,631 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 896,281 shares.The stock last traded at $35.90 and had previously closed at $36.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZWS. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.15.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.04. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 14.01%. Research analysts anticipate that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,457,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 63.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,441,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119,777 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $61,412,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,619,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,161,000 after purchasing an additional 868,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 8,801,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,412 shares during the period. 83.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.