Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the July 15th total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 173,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Alliance acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Badger Meter by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 254,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,069,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $203.26 on Tuesday. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $134.06 and a 52 week high of $210.29. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.58, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $193.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.17.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s dividend 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.