Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Price Target Cut by Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 16.09% from the stock’s current price.

BMI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $129.21 on Monday. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $112.09 and a 52-week high of $204.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.92 and its 200-day moving average is $132.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the purchase, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company’s offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.