Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MLAB. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MLAB opened at $113.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.68. Mesa Laboratories has a 12-month low of $82.86 and a 12-month high of $141.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $611.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.85.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $58.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.90 million. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 2,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.