Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock Has Average Price Target of $165.88 According to Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $166.33.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BMI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Argus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Northcoast Research lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farrow Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 19,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,377,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 21.6% in the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 31,236 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after buying an additional 5,542 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 22.2% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 137,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,929,000 after buying an additional 24,905 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 138.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 18.0% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $148.02 on Monday. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $112.09 and a 12 month high of $192.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $132.69 and a 200-day moving average of $139.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $230.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.65%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company’s offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.