Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

MWA has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $24.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $22.74 and a 52 week high of $31.00.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 22.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.75 per share, for a total transaction of $30,024.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,897.25. The trade was a 5.16% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 290,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,425,000 after purchasing an additional 145,578 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 998.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 387,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,220,000 after buying an additional 351,819 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 429,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,233,000 after purchasing an additional 39,656 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $2,222,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at $1,517,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

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.