Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Increased to $207.00 by Analysts at Maxim Group

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Maxim Group from $190.00 to $207.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Maxim Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.96% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on BMI. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.83.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $178.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 56.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.77 and a 200 day moving average of $150.37. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $179.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.9% in the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,672 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 7.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in Badger Meter by 7.8% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 21,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridge City Capital LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 39.6% during the first quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 15,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,484,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.