Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)’s share price fell 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $141.01 and last traded at $137.84. 2,368 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 29,716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MLAB shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $57.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.60 million. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 28.52% and a negative net margin of 107.56%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.40%.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In other news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 573,037 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $75,566,000 after acquiring an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,456,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,809,000 after buying an additional 18,128 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,130,000 after buying an additional 17,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,722,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

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.