Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Shares Up 5.6% After Earnings Beat

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) traded up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $199.95 and last traded at $194.24. 46,703 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 202,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.90.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment 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, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 5.1 %

The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.46.

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.