MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Downgraded to "Buy" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded MSA Safety from a “strong-buy” to a “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $203.60.
• MSA Safety recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.99 versus estimates of $1.85 and revenue of $463.63 million versus $451.28 million expected, with revenue up 10% year over year.
• Company insider activity included CFO Julie A. Beck buying 448 shares at $158.69 each, while institutional ownership remains very high at 92.51%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MSA. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.60.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $174.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 3.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $167.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.85. The company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.95. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52-week low of $151.10 and a 52-week high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $463.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 15.16%.MSA Safety Incorporporated's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSA. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,124 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter worth about $162,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 119.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 388 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company's offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA's products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.

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