Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $176.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $157.41 and its 200-day moving average is $150.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 56.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $126.66 and a 12-month high of $181.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors 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.