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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, 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 price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $225.20.

BMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Badger Meter Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $172.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.91.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.