Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Badger Meter currently has an average analyst rating of “Hold” from 11 brokerages, with five buy ratings, four hold ratings and two sell ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $155.86.
• The stock was trading at $135.25 and has a market cap of about $3.95 billion. Its latest quarter showed $1.14 EPS on $220.71 million in revenue.
• The company recently paid a $0.40 quarterly dividend for an annualized yield of 1.2%, and insiders have been buying shares, including purchases by the VP and CEO in April.

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $155.8571.

BMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Maxim Group lowered shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $135.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.68. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $251.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.22.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 18.76%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Htwe purchased 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.13 per share, with a total value of $197,421.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 7,603 shares in the company, valued at $882,936.39. The trade was a 28.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst purchased 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $117.53 per share, for a total transaction of $258,566.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 51,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,480.28. The trade was a 4.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,628 shares of company stock worth $777,128. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,979,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $694,133,000 after acquiring an additional 19,585 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $358,315,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 20.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $173,262,000 after buying an additional 168,053 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $152,951,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $131,592,000 after buying an additional 212,448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company's core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company's product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.

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