Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS.

Badger Meter Stock Down 5.7%

BMI stock opened at $176.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $180.83 and a 200 day moving average of $208.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.90. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $159,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $245,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BMI. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.17.

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.