Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.27

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd.

Badger Meter has increased its dividend by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 31 years. Badger Meter has a dividend payout ratio of 23.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Badger Meter to earn $4.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.2%.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $198.30 on Wednesday. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $199.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.15, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The company 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 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.80.

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.