Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $229.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential upside of 15.32% from the company’s current price.

WTS has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $198.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.