Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Badger Meter from “sell” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with five Buy, five Hold, and one Sell rating and an average price target of $164.
• Badger Meter reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, slightly above estimates, while revenue of $220.3 million fell 6.6% year over year and narrowly missed expectations.
• The stock opened at $132.19, up 3.2%, and an executive vice president purchased 751 shares. Institutional investors own approximately 89% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $112.00 price target (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Five equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.00.

Badger Meter Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $132.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.65. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $112.09 and a 12 month high of $204.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $137.48 and its 200 day moving average is $139.15.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Edward F. Callahan purchased 751 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the vice president owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This represents a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $348,000. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 654.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC now owns 29,334 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,353,000 after purchasing an additional 25,445 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 174,627 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,911,000 after purchasing an additional 32,136 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $683,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.4% in the 2nd 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 during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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