Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Increased to $192.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $175.00 to $192.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BMI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $174.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $190.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 54.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.93. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $202.81.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.14. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Badger Meter by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,127,000 after purchasing an additional 74,578 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,359,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,766 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.