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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $182.8750.

BMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $167.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $191.00 price target (down from $229.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, January 29th.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $154.12 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $151.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.70. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.90. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $139.14 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,634 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.01, for a total transaction of $243,482.34. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,176.56. This represents a 33.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Wrocklage acquired 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $152.35 per share, for a total transaction of $251,377.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,977,071.35. This represents a 9.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,989 shares of company stock worth $596,002 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 328.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,334 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 201,338 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,360,000 after buying an additional 8,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

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.