MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety to “Buy” from “Hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $211.33.
• MSA reported quarterly EPS of $2.40, beating estimates of $2.14, while revenue reached $503.33 million and rose 6.2% year over year.
• The stock opened at $188.73, with a market capitalization of $7.28 billion; institutional investors own a substantial 92.51% of outstanding shares.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MSA. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $223.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $188.73 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.55 and a 200-day moving average of $176.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.94. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a twelve month low of $151.10 and a twelve month high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total value of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Julie A. Beck bought 448 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,989.25. This trade represents a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Giverny Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,034,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $2,357,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 17,760.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,436,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,298,340,000 after purchasing an additional 7,395,294 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 37.5% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $247,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by 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.

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