MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives $211.33 Average Target Price from Analysts

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $211.3333.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSA. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total transaction of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,216. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $158,997,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the fourth quarter valued at $90,999,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the fourth quarter valued at $66,878,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1,447.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 363,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,159,000 after buying an additional 339,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 233.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 452,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,464,000 after buying an additional 316,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $189.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.95. The stock has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.02. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $151.10 and a 1-year high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.23 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.