Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Shares Down 5.4% – Time to Sell?

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s stock price traded down 5.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $133.00 and last traded at $138.0350. 107,314 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 502,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.87.

Key Headlines Impacting Badger Meter

Here are the key news stories impacting Badger Meter this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase kept an overweight rating on Badger Meter and only trimmed its price target slightly to $170 from $172, implying meaningful upside from current levels. JPMorgan price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada also reiterated an outperform rating, though it lowered its target to $162 from $169, suggesting analysts still expect recovery potential. RBC price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Badger Meter’s Q2 results came in slightly ahead of EPS estimates, with $1.02 per share versus the $1.01 consensus. Q2 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was essentially in line with expectations at $220.3 million, but sales were down 6.6% year over year, and management’s outlook sounded cautious for the back half of the year. Earnings call highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders about a securities class action and an August 3 lead-plaintiff deadline, keeping legal overhang front and center for investors. Class action reminder
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit alleges Badger Meter and executives concealed weakening demand and order trends, reinforcing concerns that the recent earnings decline may not be temporary. Allegations in lawsuit

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Badger Meter from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.57.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $134.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.10.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMI. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Badger Meter by 62.3% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.