Analysts Set Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Target Price at $214.75

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $214.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Badger Meter Stock Up 8.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $223.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 55.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $210.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.21. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $139.50 and a twelve month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $62,873,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Badger Meter by 0.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 331,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Badger Meter by 2.8% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 295,027 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,437,000 after purchasing an additional 7,967 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.