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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $184.20.

Several brokerages recently commented on BMI. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $213.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $199.21 and its 200-day moving average is $185.49. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $215.93.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.