Trexquant Investment LP Grows Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 66.5%, now owning approximately 0.11% of the company valued at $6.23 million.
• Badger Meter recently reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $1.17, falling short of the expected $1.19, although revenues rose 9.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, increasing from the previous $0.34, reflecting a positive shift in the company's dividend policy.

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 66.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,746 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,079 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $6,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.40.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $182.39. The stock had a trading volume of 269,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,646. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $256.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $204.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.60.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

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.