MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $211.3333.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. B. Riley Financial lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 109.3% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $56,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA stock opened at $188.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.55 and a 200-day moving average of $176.07. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $151.10 and a 12-month high of $208.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.94.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

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