In the latest trading session, Badger Meter (BMI) closed at $215.17, marking a +0.57% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 1%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.78%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.51%.

The manufacturer of products that measure gas and water flow's stock has dropped by 2.06% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.13% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.14%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Badger Meter in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on January 31, 2025. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1, marking a 19.05% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $198.92 million, indicating a 9.04% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Badger Meter. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. At present, Badger Meter boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Looking at valuation, Badger Meter is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 45.12. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 23.02.

We can also see that BMI currently has a PEG ratio of 2.37. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Instruments - Control industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.37 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Instruments - Control industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 173, finds itself in the bottom 32% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.

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