Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) released its earnings results on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0 %

BMI stock traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $176.78. The company had a trading volume of 545,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.94 and a 200 day moving average of $150.80. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $126.66 and a fifty-two week high of $181.00.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 15.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 9.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 6.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 12.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $291,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.