Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) Stock Price Down 5.2% – Should You Sell?

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)’s stock price fell 5.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $37.87 and last traded at $37.38. 348,308 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 855,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ZWS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.67.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.55 and its 200-day moving average is $35.95. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 48.72, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.70.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.04. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 8.87%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s payout ratio is 45.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions news, VP Jeffrey J. Lavalle sold 3,132 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total value of $122,617.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 35,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,386,771.30. The trade was a 8.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David J. Pauli sold 4,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total value of $159,340.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,443.80. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZWS. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $1,019,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $438,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,068,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $433,000. 83.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.