Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Upgraded to "Buy" at Northcoast Research

Key Points

• Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter to “Buy” from “Neutral” and set a $148 price target, implying 15.55% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: six analysts rate the stock a Buy, five a Hold, and one a Sell, producing an overall “Hold” consensus with a $162 average target.
• Badger Meter slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations at $1.02 versus $1.01, but revenue declined 6.6% year over year to $220.3 million and earnings fell from $1.17 per share a year earlier.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Northcoast Research from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $148.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Northcoast Research's price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.55% from the stock's previous close.

BMI has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Badger Meter from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $162.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $128.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.65. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $204.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $134.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.95.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.59 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This represents a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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 products and technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, monitor and manage water use.

Its product portfolio includes water meters, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters, advanced metering infrastructure, remote-read meter technologies and software-based data and analytics solutions. Badger Meter also offers flow measurement products for applications in industrial, commercial, municipal, fire protection and heating, ventilation and air conditioning markets.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves customers primarily in North America and also markets its products internationally.

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