Analysts Set MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Target Price at $191.80

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $191.80.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 35,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety by 44.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in MSA Safety by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the first quarter valued at about $367,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the first quarter valued at about $757,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the first quarter valued at about $501,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $159.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.58. MSA Safety has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. The business had revenue of $421.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.60 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 29.24%.

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.