Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Cut to “Neutral” at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research cut shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus set a $168.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.33.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $149.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.22. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $112.09 and a 52-week high of $192.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 14.36%. The company had revenue of $230.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.35 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.53 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.65%.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMI. XXEC Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $725,926,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 590,079 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,595,000 after acquiring an additional 131,016 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 54.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 560,356 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,370,000 after purchasing an additional 198,430 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 5.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 540,272 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $82,305,000 after purchasing an additional 29,623 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company’s offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.