Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Raised to $218.00 at Argus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target lifted by Argus from $204.00 to $218.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BMI. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Badger Meter from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Maxim Group raised 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, April 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $202.48. 56,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,078. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $206.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $191.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% during the second quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.