MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $186.50.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total value of $53,613.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 0.4%

MSA stock opened at $183.40 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $185.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 3.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.07 and its 200 day moving average is $168.49. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.97.

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

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 1.2%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company 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.