Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Rating Lowered by Northcoast Research

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was downgraded by analysts at Northcoast Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BMI. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $175.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $168.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $162.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $156.09 on Tuesday. Badger Meter has a one year low of $112.09 and a one year high of $192.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $131.11 and its 200 day moving average is $139.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 14.36%. The company had revenue of $230.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan acquired 751 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $1,447,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,344,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth $725,926,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,298,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 20,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.