Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $218.75.

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,462,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $7,494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $213.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 50.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.72. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $143.61 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

About Badger Meter

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.