In a recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Russell Investments Group Ltd. disclosed the staggering increase in its holdings of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Co. (NYSE:ZWS) by 143.6%. The firm now owns 44,440 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,200 shares during the fourth quarter of last year. Such a massive leap in stake ownership is reflective of the growing investment interest in companies that prioritize sustainable water solutions.
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp. designs, procures, manufactures, and sells water solutions for customers globally, with operations spanning across the United States, Canada, and other international markets. The mission of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions remains to engineer innovative products for buildings that conserve water and energy while enhancing performance.
Shares of ZWS opened at $22.21 on Friday, May 26th. The stock has a market cap value of $3.88 billion and trades on a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.45 while carrying a PEG ratio of 1.47 and beta score of 1.24 respectively.
Analyzing Zurn Elkay Water Solutions finances further; it becomes evident that their debt-to-equity ratio stands at a solid level of just 0.34 which is offering some certainty to investors in these times when debts become unstable following unforeseen events such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
An overview assessment reveals that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions still provides more value to its shareholders despite its dip from its one-year high point hit at $32.86 per share as recently as late last year which corroborates well with increasing demand for stable investments capable enough of weathering market surprises and investor emotion-induced panic moves.
The ripple effect from Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s boost in holding might suggest what analysts thought about this stock even before this dramatic increase occurred was not far-fetched after all. With Zurn Elkay Water Solutions in the limelight for its unique business model, there’s optimism that it will continue to offer shareholders attractive returns over time.
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp. Riding High on Strong Earnings and Institutional Investor Interest
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp. has been making waves lately, both with its earnings figures and interest from big investors. The company engages in the design and manufacturing of water solutions across the United States, Canada, and Rest of World geographical segments from its base in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In April 2017, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions posted $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, over analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by a margin of $0.03 – a result that has seen confidence in the business soar.
Recent weeks have seen a surge of interest among institutional investors in the company’s stock as well. While traditional funds such as KBC Group NV have lifted their holdings by 8.4% in Q3 2023 to 6,897 shares (valued at approximately $169,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares), other large-scale investors have shown more aggressive buying behaviour. Point72 Hong Kong recently acquired a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions valued at just under $64k while Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings by almost 100%, acquiring an additional 4,208 shares worth approximately $209k.
Wrapmanager Inc., meanwhile, also bought into Zurn Elkay Water Solutions earlier this year with position worth around $250k; looking at ownership tallies it can now be seen that over three quarters (74.65%) of ZWS stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
A slew of analyst reports coupled with positive revenue results led many to give increased attention to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp., which on May 26 had earned a consolidated rating of “Moderate Buy” from Bloomberg data based on five ratings given by various analysts who follow the firm.
A recent research report from The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target for the company from $29 to $25 but kept the rating itself at “buy”. Stifel Nicolaus adopted a similar position, reducing its price objective for the firm from $27 to $24. However, The Street upgraded Zurn Elkay Water Solutions from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in April 2017. Despite these differing views, the consensus amongst the analysts suggests that the company is still worthy of attention – and investment.
With confidence high among investors following strong earnings figures, steady dividend payments (most recently at $0.28 per share), and an overall optimistic outlook for its sector, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions is looking like a promising bet for those looking to invest in water solutions companies.
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