Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Increased to $207.00 by Analysts at Maxim Group

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Maxim Group from $190.00 to $207.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Maxim Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.96% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BMI. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.83.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $178.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.77 and a 200 day moving average of $150.37. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $179.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 6.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 12.7% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $291,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.