< Tracking Winners and Losers > We have three winners and five losers, after our first year. Between July and October of 2025, Water Sector LTP posted eight stock analyses, each with a recommendation: five BUYS, one SELL, and two HOLDS. All eight stocks are pure water plays: Xylem, Pentair, Core & Main, Advanced Drainage Systems, Badger Meter, Watts Water Technology, Primo Brands, and Mueller Water Products. The first question is, did any of our BUY recommendations out
Part 2: Regional Energy. If you are a water sector investor, you will be interested in companies that enjoy the economic advantages of abundant freshwater resources, and the general prosperity that flows therefrom. A “pure Great Lakes stock” is a public company that has headquarters in the Great Lake Basin and whose operations and markets are primarily regional. If you look for pure Great Lakes investments, you’ll find two kinds of businesses predominantly: energy and co
Part 1: Regional Banks. If you are a water sector investor, you will be interested in companies that enjoy the economic advantages of abundant freshwater resources, and the general prosperity that derives (or should we say flows) therefrom. A “pure Great Lakes stock” is a public company that has headquarters in the Great Lakes Basin and whose operations and market are primarily regional. If you look for pure Great Lakes investments, you’ll find two kinds of businesses pred
As USA dangles funding for water infrastructure projects, MWA surges. Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) on 10/8/25 when the stock closed at $25.81. MWA’s stock price hit a five-year low on 9/19/22, at $10.04. Then MWA gradually rose to its all-time high on 3/19/25 at $28.24. In the past seven months it has settled back to $25.85 (today is 10/22/25). Company With headquarters in Atlanta, MWA is a manufacturer and marketer of pr
Primo boosted by BlueTriton’s sales, saddled with BlueTriton’s burdens. Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) on 9/22/25 when the stock price was $22.26. Since PRMB’s one-year high, at $35.63 on 4/3/25, the stock has fallen by 38%, to $21.95 on 10/7/25. Is this a dip-buying opportunity? To answer that question, we must examine the company’s big merger less than a year ago. In November 2024, Tampa-based Primo Water and Stamford-based
Will Watts Water momentum overcome headwinds? Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) on 9/10/25 when the stock price closed at $278.47. On the day of its IPO, 8/21/86, WTS closed at $8.19 and has gained rather steadily over 39 years since, except for a short period of volatility from around October 2021 to late 2022. The stock has returned 18% on an annual basis over the past decade [source: Dividend Yield Theorist]. The upward cu
Will water infrastructure spending cuts hurt BMI stock? Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI), on 8/27/25 when the stock price was $188.40. BMI’s all-time high was $248.22 on 5/30/25. BMI stock closed at $245.22 on 7/21/25. The next day, BMI released a downbeat quarterly earnings (with especially disappointing earnings per share), and the stock price fell precipitously over the next two days to $189.22. The stock price today, at the close of 9
WMS thrives in a 'tepid' market, so far. Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) on 8/11/25 when the price was $131.11. WMS’s all-time high price was $174.48 on 7/26/24, about a year ago. Then the stock declined and closed at $101.10 on 4/4/25, but rebounded to $147.29 as of the day of this report, 8/23/25. Company With headquarters near Columbus, Ohio, WMS manufactures water drainage products, including plastic pipes (polypropyle
What is driving CNM's growth besides M&A? In the past 2.5 years the stock price of Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM), has increased dramatically, from an all-time low of $19.16 on 12/23/22 to an all-time high of $65.77 on 7/25/25. (CNM completed its IPO on 7/23/21, when the stock closed at $23.70.) A major driver of CNM’s growth has been acquisitions. Since August 2017, Core & Main has acquired 42 companies. In 2024 alone, CNM acquired 11 companies at a cost of over $740 millio
Can Pentair's Strong Momentum Endure? Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) on 7/17/25 when the price was $106.70. On this date of publication, 7/26/27, the price is $103.08. PNR’s price has risen dramatically in the past three years, from $39.62 on 10/21/22 to $103.16 today. I don’t think it can maintain that sort of momentum in this climate of disruptions to trade relationships and general economic incompetence in the Trump White House. But PNR is p
“Investments in new treatment technologies and green solutions are expected to more than double in the next one to three years,...
Stock analysts should gauge company neutrality. The U.S. economic system is changing profoundly under the second Trump administration. We are shifting away from Keynesian free-market capitalism toward centralized, greased-up economy. Republicans make it clear that they will reward companies and law firms that support Trump’s policies, his "presidential library," or his personal money-laundering ventures. Paramount Global demonstrated in July that bribing the Trump administrat
Xylem Inc. Propelled by Innovation and Global Demand. Water Sector LTP initiated coverage of Xylem, Inc. (NYSE:XYL) on 7/1/25, when the stock price was $131.00. On 7/9/25, the day before this report was published, the stock closed at $131.60. Xylem designs, manufactures, and services industrial machinery, supplies, software, and components for freshwater measurement, monitoring, testing, control, treatment, transport, and storage applications. XYL’s customers are in about 100
