Brink's (NYSE:BCO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Brink's (NYSE: BCO) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• Brink's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.79, exceeding estimates by $0.36, and a revenue of $1.30 billion, which was above expectations.
• Institutional investors heavily own Brink's, with approximately 94.96% of the stock held by them; notable investments include Boston Partners increasing their holdings by 80.3% in the last quarter.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brink's (NYSE:BCO - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Brink's Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Brink's stock traded up $2.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $110.93. 351,233 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 315,598. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.84, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Brink's has a 1-year low of $80.10 and a 1-year high of $115.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99 and a beta of 1.46.

Brink's (NYSE:BCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.36. Brink's had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 86.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brink's will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brink's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Brink's's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Brink's news, insider Michael E. Sweeney sold 1,314 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.05, for a total transaction of $130,151.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,790.30. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Wyche sold 475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.15, for a total transaction of $50,421.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $390,844.30. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,277 shares of company stock valued at $330,683. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brink's

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Brink's during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Brink's by 1,450.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brink's by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 512 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brink's by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 536 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brink's in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. 94.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Brink's

The Brink's Co engages in providing cash management services, digital retail solutions, and ATM managed services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Latin America, Europe, and Rest of World. The North America segment operates in the U.S. and Canada. The Latin America segment refers to the operations in Latin American countries.