Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sets New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $174.88 and last traded at $171.21, with a volume of 85084 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.00.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 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 available at the SEC website. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,585,000 after purchasing an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,934 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,617,000 after purchasing an additional 58,941 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,230,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 333.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $9,417,000 after purchasing an additional 46,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.56.

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.