Badger Meter (BMI) Declares $0.22 Dividend

Badger Meter said on February 10, 2023 that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share ($0.90 annualized). Shareholders of record as of February 23, 2023 will receive the payment on March 10, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.22 per share.

At the current share price of $118.75 / share, the stock's dividend yield is 0.76%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 0.98%, the lowest has been 0.68%, and the highest has been 1.58%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.17 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 1.30 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company's dividend payout ratio is 0.40. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company's income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company's income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend - not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company's 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.32%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 7.02% Downside

As of February 12, 2023, the average one-year price target for Badger Meter is $110.42. The forecasts range from a low of $80.80 to a high of $141.75. The average price target represents a decrease of 7.02% from its latest reported closing price of $118.75.

The projected annual revenue for Badger Meter is $600MM, an increase of 6.10%. The projected annual EPS is $2.58, an increase of 13.39%.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 600 funds or institutions reporting positions in Badger Meter. This is an increase of 21 owner(s) or 3.63% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to BMI is 0.20%, an increase of 13.33%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 1.06% to 28,758K shares. The put/call ratio of BMI is 0.89, indicating a bullish outlook.

What are large shareholders doing?

IJR - iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF holds 2,142K shares representing 7.32% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 2,043K shares, representing an increase of 4.61%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in BMI by 21.53% over the last quarter.

Impax Asset Management Group holds 1,003K shares representing 3.43% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 1,185K shares, representing a decrease of 18.13%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in BMI by 13.03% over the last quarter.

VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 878K shares representing 3.00% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 869K shares, representing an increase of 1.01%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in BMI by 20.27% over the last quarter.

SDY - SPDR Dividend ETF holds 864K shares representing 2.95% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 842K shares, representing an increase of 2.55%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in BMI by 19.64% over the last quarter.

Jpmorgan Chase & holds 777K shares representing 2.66% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 914K shares, representing a decrease of 17.59%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in BMI by 87.50% over the last quarter.

Badger Meter Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

With more than a century of water technology innovation, Badger Meter is a global provider of industry leading water solutions encompassing flow measurement, quality and other system parameters. These offerings provide the customers with the data and analytics essential to optimize their operations and contribute to the sustainable use and protection of the world's most precious resource.

This story originally appeared on Fintel.