Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 345,500 shares, an increase of 14.9% from the October 15th total of 300,700 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 236,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brady

In related news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $7,520,297.40. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.10, for a total value of $647,337.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 10,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $751,374. This trade represents a 46.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,371,231. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brady

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BRC. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brady by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,658,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $203,753,000 after buying an additional 753,092 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Brady during the first quarter worth approximately $13,439,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Brady by 143.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 266,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,459,000 after acquiring an additional 157,149 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Brady by 1,121.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 159,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 146,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Brady by 27.1% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 555,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,590,000 after purchasing an additional 118,557 shares during the period. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brady Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE BRC traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.21. 172,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 271,674. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.76. Brady has a twelve month low of $52.68 and a twelve month high of $77.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.36 and its 200-day moving average is $69.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $343.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.74 million. Brady had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brady will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Brady from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th.

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.