MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $188.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.71. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52-week low of $151.10 and a 52-week high of $208.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.94.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 26.87%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety Incorporporated

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 623.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2,490.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 89,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,628,000 after purchasing an additional 86,061 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter worth $297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.