Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $14.19

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $14.19 and traded as high as $15.50. Mueller Water Products shares last traded at $15.34, with a volume of 1,934,374 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $15.57 and its 200 day moving average is $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.35.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $256.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The company’s revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.064 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,892.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,892.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 2,800 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.09, for a total value of $42,252.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,208 shares in the company, valued at $48,408.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,419 shares of company stock worth $1,135,416. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 9,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 25,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by 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.