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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $216.00.

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth approximately $577,000. Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,120,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $230,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $220.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.27.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

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.