Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22, RTT News reports. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS.

Badger Meter Stock Up 9.8 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $201.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $198.84 and its 200 day moving average is $210.34. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Badger Meter stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,068 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.60.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.