Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Makes New $459,000 Investment in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 223,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,219,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,132,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,233,000 after buying an additional 87,707 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,126,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in MSA Safety by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 281,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,388,000 after acquiring an additional 67,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,944,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA traded up $2.76 on Tuesday, hitting $187.98. 234,678 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,641. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MSA Safety Incorporated has a one year low of $133.18 and a one year high of $196.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 1.01.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $428.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $650,363. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total transaction of $2,038,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,524,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,504 shares of company stock worth $3,056,181 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.50.

About MSA Safety

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.