Brady (NYSE:BRC) Cut 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 issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of BRC opened at $74.71 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.65. 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. Brady has a 1-year low of $51.35 and a 1-year high of $76.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Brady

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

Institutional Trading of Brady

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Brady in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brady by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 337.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Brady in the first quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Brady Company Profile

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.