Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms Hold Rating for MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA)

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $200.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.31% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MSA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $205.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.14.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $166.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.40. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a fifty-two week low of $127.86 and a fifty-two week high of $208.92.

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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 $658,054.32. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $607,365,000 after acquiring an additional 82,305 shares during the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,115,000 after purchasing an additional 106,349 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 899,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,971,000 after purchasing an additional 74,410 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 764,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,460,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. M&G PLC now owns 728,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,596,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.