Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 767,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,295 shares during the quarter. MSA Safety Incorporporated comprises about 2.1% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 1.96% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $132,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSA. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $158,997,000. M&G PLC grew its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 5,607.2% in the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 722,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,338,000 after acquiring an additional 709,596 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,167,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,260.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 204,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,188,000 after purchasing an additional 199,628 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $27,988,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total value of $53,613.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $713,874. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.50.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA stock opened at $173.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.83. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $127.86 and a 12-month high of $182.85.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.24% and a net margin of 15.02%.The business had revenue of $468.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.5625 per share. This is an increase from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Profile

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.