MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $211.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. B. Riley Financial lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,216. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Nishan Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,352.76. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $96,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $1,611,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2,222.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $181.34 on Wednesday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1 year low of $151.10 and a 1 year high of $208.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.58.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $496.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops and manufactures safety products and systems designed to protect workers and facility occupants in hazardous environments. Its solutions are used across industries including construction, manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas, mining, emergency services, and public safety.

The company’s product portfolio includes industrial head, face, eye, and hearing protection; fire and rescue helmets and protective equipment; respiratory protection; portable and fixed gas-detection instruments; fall-protection systems; thermal-imaging cameras; and related software and connected safety technologies.