Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives $236.60 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $236.60.

BMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.4%

BMI stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $238.63. The company had a trading volume of 238,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,251. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $241.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.12. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.