MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Rating Lowered to "Neutral" at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety from “Buy” to “Neutral” and lowered its price target from $210 to $195, implying only 2.13% upside. Analysts overall rate the stock “Hold,” with a consensus target of $205.17.
• MSA Safety reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.40 in earnings per share versus the $2.14 consensus estimate and $503.33 million in revenue. Revenue increased 6.2% year over year.
• The stock opened at $190.94, while institutional investors own a substantial 92.51% of shares; CFO Julie A. Beck also increased her personal stake by 13.27% through an open-market purchase.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at B. Riley Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $195.00 price objective on the industrial products company's stock, down from their previous price objective of $210.00. B. Riley Financial's price target suggests a potential upside of 2.13% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MSA. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $205.17.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $190.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.17. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12 month low of $151.10 and a 12 month high of $208.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSA. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 109.3% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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