Brady (NYSE:BRC) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $64.94 and last traded at $64.94, with a volume of 27785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.27.

The industrial products company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $343.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.80 million. Brady had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 14.08%. Brady’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Brady from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Transactions at Brady

In other Brady news, Director Nancy Lee Gioia sold 4,250 shares of Brady stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $251,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,819.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 19,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.41, for a total value of $1,111,542.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 342,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,982,937.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy Lee Gioia sold 4,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $251,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,819.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,017 shares of company stock worth $2,283,667 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brady

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRC. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brady by 422,030.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 856,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,293,000 after purchasing an additional 856,721 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Brady by 2,366.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 825,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,452,000 after purchasing an additional 792,094 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Brady by 2,520.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 465,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,441,000 after purchasing an additional 447,703 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Brady during the first quarter worth approximately $13,439,000. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brady by 18.9% during the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,252,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,763,000 after purchasing an additional 198,805 shares during the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brady Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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.