Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target to $208.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $203.00 to $208.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential downside of 9.65% from the stock’s previous close.

BMI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $230.22 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $217.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 57.13, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 61.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.