Fact based stock research
Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA)

US6247581084

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Mueller Water Products stock research in summary

muellerwaterproducts.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 77 (better than 77% compared with investment alternatives), Mueller Water Products (Industrial Machinery, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Mueller Water Products are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 53 (better than 53% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 58), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 77, is a strong buy recommendation based on Mueller Water Products's financial characteristics. As the company Mueller Water Products's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 53), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 73), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 58), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of Mueller Water Products. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	53
Growth Rank	73
Safety Rank	58
Combined Rank	77

Country	USA
Industry	Industrial Machinery
Index	Dividends USA, SDG 11, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 6, SDG 9, Water Tech
Size class	Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Mueller Water Products

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	63	67	51	53
GROWTH
GROWTH	58	9	35	73
SAFETY
SAFETY	26	42	45	58
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	16	4	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	11	15	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Mueller Water Products is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	63	67	51	53
GROWTH
GROWTH	58	9	35	73
SAFETY
SAFETY	26	42	45	58
COMBINED
COMBINED	40	28	34	77

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Mueller Water Products the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 53 (better than 53% compared with alternatives), Mueller Water Products shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Mueller Water Products. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 52 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 52% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Mueller Water Products's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 38, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 38% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 60% of alternatives (only 40% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 35% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 53, is a buy recommendation based on Mueller Water Products's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	59	59	45	40
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	60	51	28	52
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	46	50	53	38
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	64	89	86	65
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	63	67	51	53

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Mueller Water Products; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), Mueller Water Products shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Mueller Water Products. Sales Growth has a rank of 58 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 58% of its competitors. Both Profit Growth, with a rank of 73, and Stock Returns, with a rank of 95, are also above average. But Capital Growth only has a rank of 33, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 67% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That may be a good sign if the company is already well positioned and doesn't require more investments at this time. They may focus on growing the top (revenues) and bottom (profits) lines, recently rewarded with above-average stock returns for shareholders. But it may also be a sign of danger as the company is falling back with capital investment activities concerning competition. This requires further analysis of corporate communications. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	30	14	68	58
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	1	29	19	73
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	4	22	33
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	80	47	59	95
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	58	9	35	73

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Mueller Water Products.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), the company Mueller Water Products has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Mueller Water Products is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above-average for Mueller Water Products. Refinancing is at 54, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 54% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 63, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 63% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 40, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 60% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), Mueller Water Products has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and Mueller Water Products could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. In the long-term, investors may have a debt challenge with Mueller Water Products and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	28	34	32	40
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	56	62	70	54
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	33	47	44	63
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	26	42	45	58

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Mueller Water Products and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	13	24	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	4	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	40	24	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	38	27	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	16	4	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Mueller Water Products.
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