Vident Advisory LLC Acquires New Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has invested approximately $1.35 million in MSA Safety Incorporated, acquiring 9,174 shares of the industrial products company.
• Analysts show a mixed sentiment on MSA Safety, with two rating it as a "Buy" and three as a "Hold," leading to an average price target of $189.20.
• MSA Safety reported a quarterly EPS of $1.93, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $474.12 million for the quarter, up 2.5% year-over-year.

Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,346,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 23,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.9% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MSA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. DA Davidson increased their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $183.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA traded down $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.31. 166,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 209,852. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $187.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.79.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $474.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.24%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company 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.