Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $216.00.

BMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 61.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $218.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.61. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $139.50 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

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.