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

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 587,900 shares, a growth 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. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRC opened at $71.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.72. Brady has a one year low of $56.81 and a one year high of $77.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Brady will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Brady by 19.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Brady by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brady by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brady by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake in shares of Brady by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.