Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Argus raised Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.33.

Badger Meter Trading Up 6.4%

BMI stock opened at $157.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $133.20 and its 200 day moving average is $139.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.64. Badger Meter has a 1-year low of $112.09 and a 1-year high of $192.28.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $230.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.35 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 40.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth $725,926,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 28.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 590,079 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,595,000 after purchasing an additional 131,016 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 54.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 560,356 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $85,370,000 after purchasing an additional 198,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Badger Meter by 5.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 540,272 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $82,305,000 after buying an additional 29,623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company’s offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.