Ahead Of The Bell: Brady Shares Upgraded

NEW YORK (AP) — An analyst on Thursday upgraded Brady Corp., which makes labels, signs and safety devices, predicting the company's earnings and market share will climb as the recession wanes.

KeyBanc analyst Anthony Kure raised his rating on the Milwaukee-based company to "Buy" from "Hold."

"We think Brady's scale relative to the competition affords the company the opportunity to reinvest in tools and key personnel in order to position the company for more accelerated growth in a more normalized macro environment," Kure wrote in a client note.

The analyst also raised his earnings estimates for Brady to "reflect recent stabilization in macro conditions and our confidence in management's ability to execute on solid business model and strategy over the long term."

He raised his fiscal 2009 earnings-per-share estimate to $1.69 from $1.65 and his fiscal 2010 earnings-per-share estimate to $1.89 from $1.78.

Brady releases its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Friday.