Vest Financial LLC Buys 9,268 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated by 90.1%, owning 19,560 shares valued at approximately $3.28 million after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares in Q2.
• MSA Safety has received recent upgrades from analysts, including a target price increase from $183.00 to $203.00 and a current average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported $1.93 EPS for its last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenues up 2.5% year-over-year, amounting to $474.12 million.

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 90.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated were worth $3,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,738,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,046,000 after purchasing an additional 384,365 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 790,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $116,023,000 after buying an additional 200,221 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,163,000. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,181,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,631,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSA. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $183.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $182.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.20.

Insider Activity

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, President Stephanie L. Sciullo sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total transaction of $400,213.11. Following the sale, the president owned 9,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,539,659.33. This represents a 20.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $167.97 on Wednesday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12 month low of $127.86 and a 12 month high of $182.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $171.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.73. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 15.15%.The business had revenue of $474.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. MSA Safety Incorporporated's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.24%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.

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