Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

BMI has been the subject of several other reports. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $174.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI opened at $190.56 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $202.81.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted 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 $0.98 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $47,359,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Badger Meter by 851.3% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,127,000 after purchasing an additional 74,578 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $10,360,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.