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

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $200.25.

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BMI opened at $226.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $206.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter has a 1-year low of $134.06 and a 1-year high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after acquiring an additional 51,318 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 86.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,782,000 after acquiring an additional 46,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.