Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $21.68 and last traded at $21.9160, with a volume of 5011237 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MWA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays assumed coverage on Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.40.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.3%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.13. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.64, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.86%.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $291,923.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,865.52. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 1,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.33 per share, for a total transaction of $29,965.39. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 24,946 shares in the company, valued at $631,882.18. This trade represents a 4.98% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 34.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $165,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,193 shares during the period. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at $75,400,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,217,000 after purchasing an additional 714,913 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,496,000. Finally, Triodos Investment Management BV raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 1,090,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,465,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc designs and manufactures products used to support the operation, maintenance, and monitoring of water distribution and wastewater infrastructure. Its offerings include gate, butterfly, and check valves; fire hydrants; pipe fittings; and related products used to control and manage the flow of water through municipal and other utility systems.

The company also provides technologies and services intended to help utilities monitor their networks, identify leaks, improve asset management, and enhance operational efficiency.