Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives $227.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $227.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Badger Meter from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $177.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.91. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $256.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.74 and a 200-day moving average of $191.15.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.