Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Short Interest Update

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the December 15th total of 3,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 341.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.00. 1,464,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,507. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $13.49 and a 52-week high of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.85.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MWA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

About Mueller Water Products

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.