Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $329.4444.

Several research analysts have recently commented on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $379.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advyzon Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $344.78 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $308.19 and its 200-day moving average is $301.02. Watts Water Technologies has a 12 month low of $238.58 and a 12 month high of $348.09. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The company had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.37 EPS. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.