Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Now Covered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has initiated coverage of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $230.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.06% from its current price.
• Badger Meter has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a average target price of $237.00 based on various recent reports.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 15.53% and revenue growth of 9.9% year-over-year, although it missed EPS estimates by $0.02.

Research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.34% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of BMI stock traded down $3.47 on Tuesday, reaching $177.82. 315,285 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 289,675. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 38.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $198.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.54.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $358,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,519 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $215,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,340 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 802,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $196,491,000 after acquiring an additional 171,275 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Badger Meter by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $150,108,000 after buying an additional 268,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 407,059 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $99,709,000 after buying an additional 8,471 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.