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

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.25.

A number of brokerages have commented on BMI. StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,739,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 4.8% in the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its stake in Badger Meter by 4.4% in the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI opened at $226.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter has a one year low of $134.06 and a one year high of $230.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $206.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.40.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

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.