Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $212.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 117,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,985. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.35. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released 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 return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Badger Meter by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.