Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Price Target Raised to $29.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $25.00 to $29.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $27.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $13.64 and a 1 year high of $28.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $12,757,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 30,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 9,459 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth about $192,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 11,711 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.