Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $218.75.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $213.82 on Friday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $143.61 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $217.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.72.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.