Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Price Up 8.6% Following Strong Earnings

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) shares rose 8.6% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $24.40 and last traded at $25.07. Approximately 132,868 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,161,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.08.

The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.1% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.41 and a 200 day moving average of $22.28.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.