Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Upgraded to Buy at Northcoast Research

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Northcoast Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $148.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Northcoast Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.55% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $128.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $134.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.95. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $112.09 and a 1 year high of $204.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The firm had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $1,447,000. Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,867,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $725,926,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 15,880.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,949 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 8,893 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $83,819,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.