MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.53 Per Share

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a 3.9% increase from MSA Safety's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51.

MSA Safety has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 55 consecutive years. MSA Safety has a payout ratio of 23.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect MSA Safety to earn $8.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.2%.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.44. 8,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,170. MSA Safety has a 1-year low of $127.86 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The business's 50 day moving average is $149.13 and its 200-day moving average is $161.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.96.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted 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. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The firm had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. StockNews.com lowered MSA Safety from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson cut their price target on MSA Safety from $188.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on MSA Safety in a research note on Monday. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.80.

MSA Safety 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.