MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Stifel Nicolaus

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $196.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 12.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MSA. StockNews.com started coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. TheStreet raised MSA Safety from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSA Safety from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised MSA Safety from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.00.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $174.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.84. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 545.19 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.79. MSA Safety has a fifty-two week low of $108.75 and a fifty-two week high of $185.57.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $447.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.14 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 30.28% and a net margin of 0.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.65, for a total transaction of $91,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,748,691.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Bob Willem Leenen sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,461,893. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.65, for a total value of $91,325.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,748,691.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,922 shares of company stock worth $345,660. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 8,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,399,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and software that protect people and facility infrastructures in the oil, gas, petrochemical, fire service, construction, industrial manufacturing applications, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, utilities, military, and mining industries in North America, Latin America, and internationally.