Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) Short Interest Down 17.2% in March

Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,550,000 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 6,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 671,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.3 days.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:MLI opened at $51.73 on Friday. Mueller Industries has a fifty-two week low of $33.59 and a fifty-two week high of $54.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.79.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 27.59%. The company had revenue of $732.38 million during the quarter.

Mueller Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Mueller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Mueller Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Industries

In other Mueller Industries news, Director John B. Hansen sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.33, for a total transaction of $246,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,000 shares in the company, valued at $887,940. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director John B. Hansen sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.33, for a total value of $246,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $887,940. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Andrew Martin sold 47,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.25, for a total transaction of $2,328,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 370,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,263,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Industries during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $379,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 49,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 607.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 10,259 shares in the last quarter. 94.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MLI. Northcoast Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Mueller Industries in a report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mueller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd.

About Mueller Industries

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.