Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.17 EPS

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $178.51 on Friday. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $119.02 and a twelve month high of $179.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 56.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.37.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BMI. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.50.

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.