Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Coverage Initiated at Royal Bank of Canada

Equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 32.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $189.86 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.49. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.