MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.80.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on MSA Safety in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $4,839,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 35,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 23,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,394,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 39.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.30. 42,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,711. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $150.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.51. MSA Safety has a twelve month low of $127.86 and a twelve month high of $200.61. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. MSA Safety's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Equities analysts predict that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is presently 29.24%.

About MSA Safety

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.