Stock Repurchase Plan Declared by MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Board of Directors

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MSA opened at $196.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.18. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $208.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73 and a beta of 0.98.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 14.88%.The company had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 29.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSA shares. Wall Street Zen cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.17.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $223,828.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,054.32. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% 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.