MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $189.20.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSA shares. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $202.44 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $174.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.94. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $127.86 and a 1-year high of $208.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59 and a beta of 0.98.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.62 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 14.88% and a return on equity of 24.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.94%.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.