Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Royal Bank of Canada

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $193.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.67, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the period. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.