Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $231.52 and last traded at $231.52, with a volume of 34511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 58.94, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.40.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 61.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter worth about $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.