Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The firm had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock traded up $25.48 on Thursday, reaching $178.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 696,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,892. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $179.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.37.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,262 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,798 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.50.

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.