Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on BMI. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

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

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 9.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 6.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,933,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 12.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $291,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.