Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $227.3333.

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 170.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 62.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.4%

BMI stock opened at $177.67 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.60 and its 200 day moving average is $202.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.93. Badger Meter has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

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.