Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $162.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $565,000. Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 13.4% in the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 795 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4,198.8% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,284 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,645,000 after purchasing an additional 31,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 2.5 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $181.14 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 52.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $128.93 and a 52-week high of $182.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

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.