MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $142.20 and last traded at $144.55, with a volume of 964 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MSA shares. DA Davidson started coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Up 2.7 %

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 fifty day simple moving average of $156.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47 and a beta of 0.97.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,439 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,939,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 78.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the third quarter valued at $198,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in MSA Safety by 62.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.