Mueller Water Products, Inc. (MWA) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Mueller Water Products's P/E of 17.0 is below its own 5-year median of 26.6.

P/E below the industry

Mueller Water Products's P/E of 17.0 is below the Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery and Transportation Equipment median of 21.9.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Mueller Water Products's EV/EBITDA of 11.0 is below its 5-year median of 13.5.

P/S above the industry

Mueller Water Products's price-to-sales of 2.53 is above the Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery and Transportation Equipment median of 1.74 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

Trading below fair value

The share price of $24.01 is below our fair value estimate of $31.56.

Margin of safety over 20%

The price is 23.9% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 4.7% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 36.5% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth accelerating

Net income grew 49.0% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 21.6% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 5.9% over the last twelve months; the Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery and Transportation Equipment median is 11.5%.

Guidance raised

Mueller Water Products raised its fiscal 2027 Depreciation and amortization outlook on Nov 4, 2026.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 37.9% over the last twelve months, against 34.9% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on invested capital

Needs operating income and invested capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 21.6% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 15.0% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.3%.

Net margin above the industry

Mueller Water Products's net margin of 15.0% is above the Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery and Transportation Equipment median of 7.8%.

Debt level

Needs debt and equity figures.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 52.5% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 16.2 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 4.64 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 4.48; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Mueller Water Products paid dividends worth 0.9% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 0.9% yield is below the 4.6% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.9% or more; Mueller Water Products yields 0.9%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 19.5% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 24.1% of free cash flow.