Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Oppenheimer

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) had its price objective lowered by Oppenheimer from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 39.21% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays assumed coverage on Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.55. 374,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,260. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.01. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $20.90 and a 1-year high of $31.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.11. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The business had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $291,923.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,824 shares in the company, valued at $746,865.52. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Brian Healy purchased 1,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $29,928.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 26,322 shares in the company, valued at $572,503.50. The trade was a 5.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 52,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,685 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth $43,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 89.5% during the first quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth about $60,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth about $121,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc develops and manufactures products used to build, maintain and monitor water transmission and distribution systems. Its offerings help utilities and other infrastructure operators control water flow, connect and repair pipelines, manage pressure and identify leaks.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings and repair products, metering and monitoring systems, leak-detection technologies, and related flow-control equipment.