StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Brady (NYSE:BRC)

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Brady (NYSE:BRC – Get Rating) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Brady Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of BRC opened at $52.67 on Friday. Brady has a 52 week low of $40.52 and a 52 week high of $56.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.86.

Brady (NYSE:BRC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Brady had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $326.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Brady’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brady will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,500 shares of Brady stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total value of $459,170.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 359,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,394,206.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Brady by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,963,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,342 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brady in the 4th quarter worth about $11,330,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Brady by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,009,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,934,000 after purchasing an additional 148,426 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Brady by 10,519.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 144,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,788,000 after purchasing an additional 142,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brady by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 922,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,428,000 after buying an additional 125,096 shares during the last quarter. 77.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brady Company Profile

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Brady Corp. engages in the manufacture and market of specialty materials and identification solutions that determines and protects premises, products, and people. The firm operates through the Identification Solutions (IDS) and Workplace Safety (WPS) segments. The IDS segment offers industrial and healthcare identification products.