Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $250.88 and last traded at $250.89, with a volume of 54371 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $248.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BMI. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.51, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.85.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Badger Meter by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

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.