MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives $189.20 Average Target Price from Analysts

Key Points

• MSA Safety Incorporated has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five brokerages, with three holding and two buying recommendations, and an average target price of $189.20.
• President Stephanie L. Sciullo sold 2,361 shares at an average price of $169.51, resulting in a 20.63% decrease in her holdings in the company.
• The company reported earnings of $1.93 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.76, alongside a revenue of $474.12 million.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $189.20.

MSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $183.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, President Stephanie L. Sciullo sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $400,213.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 9,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,539,659.33. This represents a 20.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,027,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,410,000 after buying an additional 27,692 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,738,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,046,000 after acquiring an additional 384,365 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $158,997,000. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 813,762 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $136,330,000 after purchasing an additional 102,318 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 790,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $116,023,000 after purchasing an additional 200,221 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MSA traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,921. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $127.86 and a 52 week high of $183.18. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $172.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.57.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 15.15%.The firm had revenue of $474.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.