Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Trading Up 9.1% After Earnings Beat

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) were up 9.1% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $89.09 and last traded at $95.5350. Approximately 2,021 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 94,279 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.53.

The medical instruments supplier reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.66. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 1.51%.The business had revenue of $65.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.23 million.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 28th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLAB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 5.2% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 199,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,758,000 after buying an additional 9,780 shares during the period. Simcoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $12,794,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 138,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 133,817 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,967,000 after acquiring an additional 76,107 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 218.0% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,268,000 after acquiring an additional 84,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Up 4.6%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $505.25 million, a PE ratio of 143.02 and a beta of 0.89.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc (NASDAQ: MLAB) is a global provider of instrumentation products designed for critical process monitoring, testing and calibration. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company serves a diverse set of end markets including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy and industrial sectors. With a focus on precision measurement and validation, Mesa Laboratories helps customers ensure regulatory compliance, product safety and operational efficiency across complex manufacturing and sterilization processes.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses biological and chemical indicators for sterilization process validation, digital data loggers and sensors for environmental monitoring, and optical gas analyzers with sample-conditioning solutions for oil, gas and petrochemical applications.