Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BMI. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $175.24 on Monday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $189.93 and its 200 day moving average is $210.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,270,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Badger Meter by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 84 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.