Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Trading Up 4.3% – Should You Buy?

Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)’s share price was up 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $84.33 and last traded at $83.63. Approximately 94,385 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 835,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Northcoast Research upgraded Mueller Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.53 and a 200-day moving average of $70.24. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.16. Mueller Industries had a return on equity of 23.25% and a net margin of 16.39%. The company had revenue of $997.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $936.00 million. The company’s revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Mueller Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 15.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.09, for a total transaction of $83,090.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 94,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,886,404.26. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles P. Herzog, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.04, for a total value of $1,380,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,733 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,145.32. This represents a 45.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MLI. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mueller Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 36.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 61.7% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.50% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Industries Company Profile

Mueller Industries, Inc manufactures and sells copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, the Middle East, China, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate. The Piping Systems segment offers copper tubes, fittings, line sets, and pipe nipples.