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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $214.75.

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Maxim Group upped their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $216.82 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $139.50 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.75%.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 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.