Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 12.1 %

Mesa Laboratories stock opened at $117.89 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.57. The stock has a market cap of $637.78 million, a PE ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 0.87. Mesa Laboratories has a 1-year low of $82.86 and a 1-year high of $141.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.55. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. The company had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 66.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 2.5% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 194,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,324,000 after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,108,000 after purchasing an additional 56,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,973,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

About Mesa Laboratories

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.