WTS WATTS WATER TECHNOLOGIES INC

NYSE Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products DE CIK: 0000795403
AI RATING
HOLD
62% Confidence

Investment Thesis

WTS demonstrates strong profitability with healthy margins (48% gross, 20% operating) and solid 8% revenue growth, supported by a fortress balance sheet with minimal leverage. However, the significant disconnect between reported net income of $99.6M and operating cash flow of only $17.9M raises critical quality of earnings concerns requiring investigation.

Strengths

  • + Robust profitability margins: 48.1% gross margin, 19.6% operating margin, 14.7% net margin
  • + Solid revenue growth of 8.3% YoY demonstrating market demand
  • + Fortress balance sheet with minimal leverage (0.09x debt/equity) and $374.7M cash
  • + Excellent liquidity position with 2.72x current ratio and 1.62x quick ratio
  • + Exceptional interest coverage of 51.2x indicating virtually zero default risk

Risks

  • ! Major cash flow deterioration: $99.6M net income but only $17.9M operating cash flow signals working capital problems or earnings quality issues
  • ! Net income growth stalled at 0% YoY despite 8.3% revenue growth, indicating margin compression
  • ! Critically low free cash flow of $6.6M (1% FCF margin) severely limits capital allocation and growth reinvestment capacity

Key Metrics to Watch

Financial Metrics

Revenue
677.3M
Net Income
99.6M
EPS (Diluted)
$2.97
Free Cash Flow
6.6M
Total Assets
2.9B
Cash
374.7M

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin 48.1%
Operating Margin 19.6%
Net Margin 14.7%
ROE 4.8%
ROA 3.4%
FCF Margin 1.0%

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Current Ratio
2.72x
Quick Ratio
1.62x
Debt/Equity
0.09x
Debt/Assets
0.0%
Interest Coverage
51.15x
Long-term Debt
197.8M
Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI based on publicly available SEC EDGAR filings. It does not include stock price data and should not be considered financial advice. All fundamental data is sourced from SEC public domain filings. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Data Source: SEC EDGAR | Analysis Date: 2026-05-08T13:05:38.675591 | Data as of: 2026-03-29 | Powered by Claude AI