One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$54.65 our estimate vs market $49.01
Wall Street consensus: $56.50 (3.4% higher than our fair-value estimate)
10% below our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation
ZWS · NYQ · Industrials · Pollution & Treatment Controls
Current price
$49.01
52-week range
$35.73 - $53.76
Market cap
$8.21B
Balance sheet
Healthy
10.09x Adequate
Net debt $278.70M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
0 Risks
3 rewards · 0 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 2.6% last year.
- Reward Returns 13.3% on equity, ahead of 16% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
What this company does
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions makes and sells the water fixtures you see in commercial buildings like schools and offices, from Elkay sinks and drinking fountains to Zurn toilets and the hidden plumbing valves that keep the water system safe. The company earns money when these buildings are constructed or renovated, so its success is often tied to the health of the commercial construction market. This focus on water safety and efficiency is important as more buildings are updated to meet modern standards for hygiene and conservation.
How the company got here
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions was formed in 2022 when two established companies, Zurn Water Solutions and Elkay Manufacturing, decided to merge. Zurn has a long history dating back to 1900, focusing on water control and safety products for commercial buildings. Elkay, founded in 1920, was a family-owned business famous for its kitchen sinks and, more recently, for its popular ezH2O bottle filling stations. The combination created a much larger, more comprehensive water company, bringing together Zurn's expertise in managing water within buildings and Elkay's strength in drinking water products. This move allowed them to offer a wider range of solutions to the same types of customers, like schools and hospitals.
What it actually does
Zurn Elkay makes a wide variety of products that manage water in and around buildings, with a focus on safety, cleanliness, and efficiency. You've likely seen their products without realizing it, such as Elkay bottle-filling stations and drinking fountains in schools and airports, or Zurn toilets and faucets in the restrooms of stadiums and restaurants. They also make critical, behind-the-scenes plumbing components like drains, valves that prevent water contamination (called backflow preventers), and systems that manage rainwater on roofs. Their customers are mostly non-residential, including schools, hospitals, offices, and other public and commercial spaces.
Water Safety and Control
This part of the business focuses on products that ensure water is delivered safely and reliably throughout a building. It includes devices like backflow preventers, which are essential safety valves that stop contaminated water from flowing backward into the clean water supply. It also features pressure-reducing valves that manage water pressure to prevent damage to pipes and fixtures, as well as thermostatic mixing valves that blend hot and cold water to safe temperatures in sinks and showers. These are critical components for any large building, like a hospital or school, to ensure their plumbing systems are safe and compliant with regulations.
Flow Systems
This segment deals with how water moves through and out of a building. It includes a wide range of drainage products, from simple floor drains in commercial kitchens to complex systems that remove rainwater from large flat roofs. The business also provides specialized products like grease interceptors (devices that separate grease and oil from wastewater in restaurants) and systems for safely draining chemical waste in laboratory settings. This is a foundational part of the company, providing the essential plumbing infrastructure for commercial and institutional buildings.
Hygienic and Environmental
This business line provides the fixtures you see and use in commercial restrooms. It includes touch-free sensor faucets and toilets that reduce the spread of germs, as well as durable sinks and restroom partitions. A key product in this area is the company's line of eco-friendly hand dryers, which help facilities reduce paper towel waste. This segment is focused on providing building owners with products that improve cleanliness and contribute to their sustainability goals.
Drinking Water
This is a major and growing part of the company, largely thanks to the Elkay merger. The most recognizable products are the Elkay ezH2O bottle filling stations, which have become common in schools, gyms, and offices, helping to reduce single-use plastic bottle waste. The segment also includes traditional water coolers and fountains, as well as filtered water dispensers for homes and offices. This business benefits from an increasing focus on health, wellness, and providing access to clean, filtered drinking water.
What management is betting on now
Management is focused on being the go-to provider for water solutions that promote sustainability and hygiene. They are capitalizing on trends like the upgrading of old infrastructure in schools and other public buildings, especially projects aimed at removing lead pipes and improving water quality. The company is also emphasizing its role in helping customers meet their own environmental goals, offering products that conserve water and reduce waste. By providing a complete package of products—from the pipes in the walls to the bottle fillers in the hallway—they aim to be a one-stop shop for building owners focused on safety and sustainability.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
Revenue
$433.00M
Net income
$58.90M
Diluted EPS
0.35
Operating cash flow
$46.10M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$407.20M
Net income
$42.10M
Diluted EPS
0.24
Operating cash flow
$91.70M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$455.40M
Net income
$61.80M
Diluted EPS
0.36
Operating cash flow
$101.30M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$444.50M
Net income
$50.50M
Diluted EPS
0.29
Operating cash flow
$110.60M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$388.80M
Net income
$43.60M
Diluted EPS
0.26
Operating cash flow
$42.90M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$370.70M
Net income
$36.40M
Diluted EPS
0.21
Operating cash flow
$63.60M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$410.00M
Net income
$43.50M
Diluted EPS
0.25
Operating cash flow
$90.90M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$412.00M
Net income
$46.00M
Diluted EPS
0.27
Operating cash flow
$85.10M
Free cash flow
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Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $54.65 vs current price $49.01
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $56.50 (3.4% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $54.65 a share — about 11.5% away from today's price of $49.01, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Healthy
Net debt $278.7M. Interest coverage 10.1x.
Net debt
$278.70M
Interest coverage
10.09x
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 10.1 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Healthy
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
ZWS
BASELINE
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation
Total debt $552.20M Interest coverage 10.09x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $305.00M Interest coverage 43.69x +333% vs ZWS Carries about 4.3x more debt cushion than ZWS.
Total debt $2.08B Interest coverage 13.41x +33% vs ZWS Carries about 1.3x more debt cushion than ZWS.
Total debt $656.90M Interest coverage 53.93x +435% vs ZWS Carries about 5.3x more debt cushion than ZWS.
Total debt $0.00 Interest coverage 35.80x +255% vs ZWS Carries about 3.5x more debt cushion than ZWS.
Total debt $290.52M Interest coverage 25.34x +151% vs ZWS Carries about 2.5x more debt cushion than ZWS.
What you should know
The case for and against ZWS
3 Rewards
0 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 2.6% last year.
-
Returns 13.3% on equity, ahead of 16% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
Risks
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
39.85x
Forward P/E
25.43x
P/B
5.09x
P/S
4.72x
EV/EBITDA
21.58x
PEG ratio
1.72x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
45.4%
Operating margin
19.1%
Net margin
12.3%
ROE
13.3%
ROA
7.2%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.34x
Current ratio
3.24x
Quick ratio
2.00x
Total debt
$552.20M
Total cash
$273.50M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$1.74B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
16.8%
EPS TTM
1.23
EPS 5Y CAGR
42.2%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$349.70M
Free CF TTM
$316.60M
FCF margin
18.2%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.9%
Payout ratio
32.5%
Last ex-div date
2026-05-20