Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Announces Earnings Results

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $176.78 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.80. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $126.66 and a 12-month high of $181.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 50.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,991,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $497,681,000 after buying an additional 28,050 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,651,786 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $563,726,000 after purchasing an additional 37,517 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Badger Meter by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,097,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $193,750,000 after acquiring an additional 26,896 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 1.6% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 591,793 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,092,000 after acquiring an additional 9,207 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after acquiring an additional 100,304 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.