MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives $191.80 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research 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 price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.80.

MSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,710,889.32. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in MSA Safety by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 39.4% in 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 54.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSA Safety Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of MSA traded down $2.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $161.94. The stock had a trading volume of 204,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,294. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.51 and a 200 day moving average of $159.25.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.