Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus lowered Badger Meter’s price target to $150 from $165 while maintaining a “Buy” rating, implying approximately 18.5% upside from the stock’s $126.61 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: six analysts rate the stock a Buy, five a Hold, and one a Sell, producing an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $159.38.
• Badger Meter slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.02 versus the $1.01 consensus, but revenue fell 6.6% year over year to $220.3 million; institutional investors own 89.01% of the shares.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target suggests a potential upside of 18.47% from the stock's current price.

BMI has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Badger Meter from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $148.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 target price on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.38.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $126.61 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.92. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $204.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan bought 751 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 8.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 2.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,680 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.3% in the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 212.9% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $27,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.

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