Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Short Interest Update

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,968,675 shares, an increase of 37.3% from the December 15th total of 2,891,419 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,362,109 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,362,109 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.41 per share, with a total value of $27,461.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,549.25. This trade represents a 6.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 15,094 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $371,614.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 85,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,115,276.54. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.7% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 22,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 131.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 59,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

NYSE MWA traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,620,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,139. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $28.58.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.75% and a net margin of 13.41%.The company had revenue of $380.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.14%.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.