Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Rating Lowered by Argus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports.

BMI has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $166.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays set a $136.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.89.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $147.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.90. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $139.14 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.15.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,742,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 12,537 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 20,165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 930 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.