Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Price

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its target price dropped by Stifel Nicolaus from $209.00 to $196.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.90% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.60.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $201.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.72, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $239.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.34.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.