Brady (NYSE:BRC) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

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

Brady Price Performance

Shares of BRC traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.92. The stock had a trading volume of 131,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,910. Brady has a 52 week low of $62.70 and a 52 week high of $77.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $69.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 0.80.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22. The company had revenue of $382.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.61 million. Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. Brady's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Brady will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brady

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Brady during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 213.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 378.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Brady during the 1st quarter valued at $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.