Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $162.00 According to Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.3%

BMI stock opened at $124.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.65 and a 200 day moving average of $134.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.64. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $112.09 and a 52 week high of $204.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 41.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at $261,979.25. This represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,680 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Badger Meter by 212.9% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.