Brokerages Set Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Target Price at $237.00

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $237.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $318,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $568,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $19,270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $175.24 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $189.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.94. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.88. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.