Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $229.80.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $215.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.04, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $197.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.49. Badger Meter has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $169,448,000 after acquiring an additional 17,873 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $106,261,000 after acquiring an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after acquiring an additional 17,060 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.