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 report issued on Thursday morning.

Brady Price Performance

NYSE:BRC opened at $73.64 on Thursday. Brady has a 52-week low of $51.35 and a 52-week high of $76.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.68 and a 200 day moving average of $66.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Brady Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio 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 dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,520,297.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total value of $916,934.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at $7,520,297.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of Brady 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,727 shares in the company, valued at $737,014.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brady

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Brady by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 610,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,190,000 after purchasing an additional 106,219 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Brady by 101.9% during the first 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 buying an additional 19,942 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 54.4% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 350,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,107,000 after acquiring an additional 123,296 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Brady in the first quarter worth $1,051,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brady in the first quarter valued at $739,000. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.