Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Upgraded at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $75.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MLI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mueller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

MLI stock opened at $59.24 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.11. Mueller Industries has a fifty-two week low of $41.17 and a fifty-two week high of $70.95. The firm has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.34. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 19.37% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Mueller Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Mueller Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Mueller Industries’s payout ratio is currently 18.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gregory L. Christopher sold 206,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.64, for a total transaction of $14,177,389.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,609,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,506,231.19. This represents a 11.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLI. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Industries by 88.4% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 4,853 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Mueller Industries by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 28,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22,347 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in Mueller Industries by 29.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 66,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 15,200 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Mueller Industries by 2,599.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 90,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,426,000 after purchasing an additional 87,459 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Mueller Industries by 291.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 126,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,210,000 after purchasing an additional 94,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

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.