Brokerages Set Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) PT at $214.75

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com 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 target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $214.75.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $216.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.41. Badger Meter has a one year low of $139.50 and a one year high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 14.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 32,474 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,250,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 62,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.