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

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Northcoast Research cut Mueller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of MLI stock opened at $128.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.56. Mueller Industries has a fifty-two week low of $72.16 and a fifty-two week high of $141.51.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.67. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Industries news, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 103,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.29, for a total value of $14,177,389.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 804,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,506,231.19. The trade was a 11.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 239.2% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after buying an additional 9,975 shares during the period. Ballast Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the third quarter valued at $3,057,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the third quarter valued at $7,158,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 88.4% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 4,853 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Industries by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 28,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after buying an additional 22,347 shares during the period. 94.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mueller Industries

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.