Brady (NYSE:BRC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

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

Brady Price Performance

Shares of BRC opened at $74.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.76. Brady has a 52 week low of $51.35 and a 52 week high of $76.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.10 and a 200-day moving average of $67.22.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last released its earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Brady had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $343.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Brady’s payout ratio is 24.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brady news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 21,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total transaction of $1,590,938.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,691,895. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Brady news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 21,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total transaction of $1,590,938.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,691,895. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.10, for a total value of $647,337.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 10,140 shares in the company, valued at $751,374. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,371,231 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brady

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brady by 9.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Brady by 17.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 376,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,336,000 after acquiring an additional 56,137 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Brady by 101.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 19,942 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Brady during the 1st quarter valued at about $739,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Brady in the 1st quarter worth approximately $595,000. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.