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 Thursday morning.

MLAB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an underweight rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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 Stock Up 3.0 %

Mesa Laboratories stock opened at $126.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $682.51 million, a PE ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.94. Mesa Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $82.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.13.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $58.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.90 million. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. Research analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.36%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,712,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,108,000 after acquiring an additional 56,067 shares in the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $2,456,000. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $2,606,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mesa Laboratories

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.