MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MSA opened at $191.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.32. The company has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a twelve month low of $151.10 and a twelve month high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued 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 company had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total value of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,989.25. This trade represents a 13.27% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,953,000 after buying an additional 13,501 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter valued at about $501,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 44.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% in 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 period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 31.5% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

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.