MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded MSA Safety from “Buy” to “Hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with an average price target of $211.33.
• MSA Safety reported strong quarterly results, earning $2.40 per share versus the $2.14 estimate and generating $503.33 million in revenue, up 6.2% year over year.
• The stock opened at $191.00, while insiders showed mixed activity: the CFO purchased shares, whereas the chairman sold 20,000 shares. Institutional investors own approximately 92.51% of the company.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

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

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $191.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.45. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a fifty-two week low of $151.10 and a fifty-two week high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The company had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total value of $3,879,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,352.76. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Giverny Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,034,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,357,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 17,760.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,436,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,298,340,000 after acquiring an additional 7,395,294 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% 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.

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