Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives $164.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $112.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Edward Callahan acquired 751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $125.33 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $135.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.89. Badger Meter has a one year low of $112.09 and a one year high of $204.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing products and technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, monitor and manage water use.

Its product portfolio includes water meters, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters, advanced metering infrastructure, remote-read meter technologies and software-based data and analytics solutions. Badger Meter also offers flow measurement products for applications in industrial, commercial, municipal, fire protection and heating, ventilation and air conditioning markets.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves customers primarily in North America and also markets its products internationally.