Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.90.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered shares of Xylem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Xylem from $166.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Xylem Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:XYL opened at $129.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.33 and a 200 day moving average of $127.25. Xylem has a 52 week low of $113.26 and a 52 week high of $146.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Xylem’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Xylem will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xylem

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Xylem by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,644,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,323,325,000 after buying an additional 303,854 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Xylem by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,329,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,394,792,000 after acquiring an additional 189,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xylem by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,804,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $671,623,000 after purchasing an additional 135,492 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Xylem by 231.5% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,561,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Xylem by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,009,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $465,229,000 after purchasing an additional 359,276 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xylem Company Profile

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.