Barclays Initiates Coverage on Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI)

Analysts at Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “underweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 9.66% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.25.

Badger Meter Stock Up 4.3%

Badger Meter stock opened at $173.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.43. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,960,308 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $707,232,000 after purchasing an additional 145,389 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $358,315,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $173,262,000 after buying an additional 168,053 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,519 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $215,464,000 after buying an additional 19,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 78.1% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $150,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,799 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.