Short Interest in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Rises By 22.8%

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the November 30th total of 944,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 198,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $212.12. 117,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,795. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.35. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $139.50 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $62,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,160 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,204.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $257,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 34,520 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,433,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,434 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.