MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Given New $220.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised MSA Safety’s price target to $220 from $210 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying approximately 13.8% upside from the reported $193.38 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: MSA has a consensus “Hold” rating from six analysts, with an average price target of $208.50.
• MSA reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting $2.40 in EPS versus the $2.14 consensus estimate and $503.33 million in revenue, up 6.2% year over year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $220.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.77% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson cut their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $208.50.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA stock traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $193.38. The stock had a trading volume of 105,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,701. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a fifty-two week low of $151.10 and a fifty-two week high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $607,365,000 after acquiring an additional 82,305 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $290,115,000 after purchasing an additional 106,349 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 899,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $143,971,000 after purchasing an additional 74,410 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 764,663 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $122,460,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. M&G PLC now owns 728,727 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $116,596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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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