Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Trading Up 5.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) shares were up 5.7% on Monday after Robert W. Baird upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an outperform rating. Robert W. Baird now has a $173.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $165.00. Badger Meter traded as high as $154.68 and last traded at $154.0670. Approximately 69,961 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 402,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.81.

BMI has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.88.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.01, for a total transaction of $243,482.34. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,176.56. The trade was a 33.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Wrocklage purchased 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $152.35 per share, with a total value of $251,377.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 19,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,977,071.35. This represents a 9.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,989 shares of company stock valued at $596,002 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 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.