Brady (NYSE:BRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brady (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Brady Stock Performance

Brady stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.34. 361,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,466. Brady has a 12-month low of $62.70 and a 12-month high of $77.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.87.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.22. Brady had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The company had revenue of $382.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Brady's payout ratio is 23.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Brady during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Brady by 213.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Brady by 378.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Brady by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brady in the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

About Brady

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.