Mueller Water Products, Inc. Stock Upgraded to Buy

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The shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP) surged after Brean Capital upgraded its stock rating to Buy with a price target of $10 per share. The stock is trading $8.79 per share, up by more than 12% at the time of this writing, around 2:54 P.M. in New York.

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP) manufactures and markets products and services used in the distribution, transmission of water.

Financial performance

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP) recently reported its third-quarter financial results with a profit of $18.5 million or $0.11 in earnings per share compared with its $14.1 million profit or $0.09 in earning per share in the year-ago quarter.

During the quarter, Mueller Products, Inc (NYSE:MWP) said its revenue rose 6.4% to $318.5 million from $299.4 million in the same period last year.

Wall Street analysts expected the company to deliver $0.11 in earnings per share and $326.45 million in revenue. The company’s earnings per share were in line, but its revenue fell short of the consensus estimate.

In a statement, Gregory E. Hyland, chairman and CEO of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP) said, “We are pleased with our improved overall performance in the third quarter, with year-over-year growth in net sales, net income per diluted share and free cash flow, as well as a 27 percent increase in operating income.”

Hyland added, “We continue to believe consolidated results for the 2014, fourth quarter will improve year-over-year primarily due to expected growth in our key end markets and the benefits of stronger operating leverage, particularly at Mueller Co.”

Mueller Water Products declared dividend

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP) recently approved the distribution of a quarterly dividend of $0.0175 per share on August 20 to shareholders in record as of August 11. The quarterly dividend represents a $0.07 per share on an annual basis.

Recommendations from other analysts

Other analysts also issued their recommendations for the shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP). In a research note on July 8, analysts at Northland Securities initiated a Market Perform rating with a $9.00 per share price target for the stock.

Gabelli analysts also initiated coverage on the stock with a Hold rating and $9.75 price target.

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWP) received five Hold ratings and five Buy ratings from equities research analysts. The average price target for the stock is $11.42 per share, higher than its current trading price.

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