Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $208.58, but opened at $216.59. Badger Meter shares last traded at $212.34, with a volume of 22,217 shares.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $217.38 and a 200-day moving average of $211.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.79.

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.