Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BMI. Weiss Ratings raised Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. 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. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.38.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $126.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $130.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.74. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $112.09 and a 52-week high of $204.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward Callahan bought 751 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,447,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,344,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $725,926,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,298,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 20,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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 technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.