Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Announces Earnings Results

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Badger Meter Trading Up 16.7 %

Shares of BMI traded up $25.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $178.51. The stock had a trading volume of 696,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,893. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $119.02 and a fifty-two week high of $179.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 34.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $147.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 15.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 6.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 12.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Institutional investors 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.