Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.11.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James raised shares of Xylem from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Xylem from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Xylem from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Xylem Price Performance

Shares of XYL opened at $127.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.10. Xylem has a twelve month low of $87.59 and a twelve month high of $130.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.11.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. Xylem had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Xylem’s revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Xylem will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Xylem’s payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xylem news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $122,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Xylem news, CAO Geri-Michelle Mcshane sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $122,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,682.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Franz Cerwinka sold 2,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.79, for a total transaction of $293,270.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,431,032.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xylem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AtonRa Partners raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. AtonRa Partners now owns 4,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. FFT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 31,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xylem by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.