Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Short Interest Up 22.8% in December

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the November 30th total of 944,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 198,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0 %

BMI traded down $2.13 on Tuesday, reaching $212.12. The stock had a trading volume of 117,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,985. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $217.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.35. The company has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $139.50 and a 12-month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after purchasing an additional 19,848 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,873,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 331,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $72,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Badger Meter by 2.8% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 295,027 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $64,437,000 after purchasing an additional 7,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.00.

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.