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

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.8750.

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $136.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $232.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective (down previously from $229.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert Wrocklage acquired 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $152.35 per share, with a total value of $251,377.50. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 19,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,977,071.35. This represents a 9.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst purchased 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.42 per share, with a total value of $502,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,781.46. This represents a 8.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 328.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,734 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $343,000. Finally, Pacific Sun Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.8%

Badger Meter stock opened at $159.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.73. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $139.14 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.