Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MLI. Northcoast Research upgraded Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Industries currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of MLI opened at $64.15 on Friday. Mueller Industries has a 52 week low of $41.17 and a 52 week high of $70.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.68 and a 200-day moving average of $62.30.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 25.68% and a net margin of 18.25%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Mueller Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Mueller Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is currently 18.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Industries by 181.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,439,000 after buying an additional 1,666,891 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $171,281,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 837.0% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,283,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,919 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 136.5% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,674,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,561,000 after acquiring an additional 966,840 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mueller Industries by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,528,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,216,000 after acquiring an additional 679,958 shares during the last quarter. 94.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Industries Company Profile

Mueller Industries, Inc is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of copper, brass, aluminum and plastic products. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company serves a wide range of markets including HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), refrigeration, plumbing, industrial gas, automotive and agricultural sectors. Its product portfolio encompasses copper and plastic tubing, brass fittings, valves and related components designed for fluid handling and temperature control applications.

The company operates through multiple business segments, including the Plumbing & Refrigeration segment, which supplies copper and plastic tubing, fittings and valves for residential and commercial construction markets; the Industrial Metals & Mining segment, which provides aluminum shapes and specialty brass products for industrial applications; and the Climate segment, which focuses on copper tubing and components for air conditioning and refrigeration systems.