Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Upgraded at Oppenheimer

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.97% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $15.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.35. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $12.11 and a 52-week high of $16.93.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $256.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Paul Mcandrew sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $345,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,649.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Paul Mcandrew sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $345,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,649.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,892.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,052,260 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth about $80,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 113,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 30,700 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 256,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,130,000 after acquiring an additional 77,810 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth about $2,183,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

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.