Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Raises Dividend to $0.44 Per Share

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, September 11th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This is a 10.0% increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Badger Meter has increased its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 32 years. Badger Meter has a dividend payout ratio of 32.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Badger Meter to earn $4.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.6%.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.8%

BMI opened at $136.83 on Wednesday. Badger Meter has a 1-year low of $112.09 and a 1-year high of $204.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.91.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $112.00 price target (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.00.

About Badger Meter

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.