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

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 587,900 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the February 13th total of 474,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 274,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Brady Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BRC stock opened at $71.93 on Wednesday. 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 has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.80. Brady has a 1-year low of $56.81 and a 1-year high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.03). Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $356.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.21 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Brady’s payout ratio is 24.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 213.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 378.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 161.4% in the third 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. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Brady by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Brady in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. Hedge funds and other 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.