Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA – Get Rating) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.50.

Several research firms have recently commented on MWA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. TheStreet raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Wednesday, May 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 580.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 12,719 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 65.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 28,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 11,270 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 38.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 21,068 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,116,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 56.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 27,589 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.0 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $13.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 3.15. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $9.90 and a one year high of $14.98.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $332.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.45 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be issued a $0.061 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 48.00%.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Mueller Water Products, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of products used in the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. It operates through the Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions segments. The Water Flow Solutions segment includes iron gate valves, specialty valves, and service brass products.