Short Interest in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Grows By 86.7%

by · The Cerbat Gem

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA – Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,150,000 shares, a growth of 86.7% from the March 15th total of 3,830,000 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.80.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Mueller Water Products

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 7.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 58,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at about $502,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 45.6% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 52,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 16,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.2 %

MWA stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.01. The company had a trading volume of 3,898,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,543. Mueller Water Products has a 52 week low of $15.61 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.25.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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