Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Argus raised Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $175.00 price target on Badger Meter in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $187.00 price objective (up from $162.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.33.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $148.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.63. Badger Meter has a 1-year low of $112.09 and a 1-year high of $192.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.10.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at approximately $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $725,926,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 28.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 590,079 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,595,000 after purchasing an additional 131,016 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Badger Meter by 54.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 560,356 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,370,000 after purchasing an additional 198,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Badger Meter by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 540,272 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $82,305,000 after acquiring an additional 29,623 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Badger Meter

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.