Brady (NYSE:BRC) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brady (NYSE:BRC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRC opened at $74.71 on Thursday. Brady has a one year low of $51.35 and a one year high of $76.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $343.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.74 million. Brady had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brady

In other news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at $7,520,297.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total transaction of $216,020.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $737,014.79. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at $7,520,297.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brady

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brady during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Brady by 65.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Brady by 337.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Brady by 36.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brady in the 1st quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

About Brady

Brady Corporation manufactures and supplies identification solutions (IDS) and workplace safety (WPS) products to identify and protect premises, products, and people in the United States and internationally. The company offers materials, printing systems, RFID, and bar code scanners for product identification, brand protection labeling, work in process labeling, finished product identification, and industrial track and trace applications; safety signs, floor-marking tapes, pipe markers, labeling systems, spill control products, lockout/tagout device, and software and services for safety compliance auditing, procedure writing, and training; and hand-held printers, wire markers, sleeves, and tags for wire identification.