Analysts Set Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) PT at $147.50

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.50.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd.

Badger Meter Trading Up 16.7 %

NYSE BMI opened at $178.51 on Tuesday. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $179.51. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.37.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company’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 value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.