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

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by Northcoast Research from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $176.68 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $157.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.56. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 56.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $126.66 and a twelve month high of $181.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

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.