Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.74 and last traded at $40.20, with a volume of 11333 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.17.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 51.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.77 and a 200 day moving average of $33.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE:ZWS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $410.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Insider Activity at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total transaction of $122,617.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 35,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,386,771.30. This trade represents a 8.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd A. Adams sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.83, for a total value of $4,779,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,242,867 shares in the company, valued at $89,333,392.61. The trade was a 5.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 225,688 shares of company stock worth $8,400,151 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 178.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 76.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions by 732.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. 83.33% of the stock is owned by 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.