Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $165.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BMI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $126.68 on Monday. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $112.09 and a 1 year high of $204.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 41.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at $981,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 219.2% during the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,453 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after buying an additional 29,152 shares during the last quarter. Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth $617,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 258,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,894,000 after buying an additional 67,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.