StockNews.com Lowers Brady (NYSE:BRC) to Buy

Brady (NYSE:BRC) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRC opened at $74.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.27. Brady has a fifty-two week low of $51.35 and a fifty-two week high of $76.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.49.

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

Insider Activity at Brady

In related news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total value of $216,020.27. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,727 shares in the company, valued at $737,014.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 21,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 102,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,691,895. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total value of $216,020.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $737,014.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brady

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,439,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 23.5% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 560,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,631,000 after acquiring an additional 106,652 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Brady by 21.1% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 610,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,190,000 after acquiring an additional 106,219 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 231.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 132,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after acquiring an additional 92,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Brady by 1,135.8% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,305,000 after purchasing an additional 59,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.