Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $218.75.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,917,000 after buying an additional 231,398 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,586,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Badger Meter by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $217.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.30, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.25. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $150.87 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

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.