Hodges Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,025 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 170.5% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $187.65 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $180.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.33.

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.