Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 446,300 shares, an increase of 29.2% from the October 31st total of 345,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 262,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Brady

In other Brady news, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.10, for a total transaction of $647,337.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 10,140 shares in the company, valued at $751,374. This represents a 46.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total value of $916,934.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,520,297.40. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,371,231 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brady

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brady by 65.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of Brady by 161.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Brady by 337.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Brady by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brady in the 2nd quarter valued at $119,000. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Brady from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th.

Brady Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BRC traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $74.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,824. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Brady has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $377.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.59%.

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.