Barclays Initiates Coverage on Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS)

Research analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $287.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 2.18% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.80.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $280.88 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $269.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.80. The company has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.11.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The company had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTS. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.