Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Plans $0.07 Quarterly Dividend

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 23rd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of 0.067 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%.

Mueller Water Products has increased its dividend by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years. Mueller Water Products has a dividend payout ratio of 20.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Mueller Water Products to earn $1.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.27 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.8%.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,087,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,346. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $13.49 and a 12-month high of $26.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.01. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.