Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.17 EPS

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $25.48 on Thursday, hitting $178.48. 696,323 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,892. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a one year low of $119.02 and a one year high of $179.51.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $115,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $91,000. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $133,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.50.

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.