MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA stock opened at $164.32 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $167.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21 and a beta of 0.96. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52-week low of $151.10 and a 52-week high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $463.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 29.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other news, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $607,365,000 after buying an additional 82,305 shares in the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,115,000 after buying an additional 106,349 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 899,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,971,000 after buying an additional 74,410 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 764,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,460,000 after buying an additional 9,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.