Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Raised to $208.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $203.00 to $208.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

BMI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE BMI opened at $226.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.13, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.75. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $139.50 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 1.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5.0% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 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.