MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MSA Safety shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $190.74 and last trading near $188.32, compared with a 200-day average of $176.34.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: two analysts rate the stock Buy and four rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and a $211.33 price target.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.40 in earnings per share and $503.33 million in revenue, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share; its chairman also sold 20,000 shares.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $176.34 and traded as high as $190.74. MSA Safety Incorporporated shares last traded at $188.3190, with a volume of 193,877 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. B. Riley Financial cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $223.00 price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $177.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.34.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The business had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated's dividend payout ratio is 26.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,352.76. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Julie A. Beck acquired 448 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $606,989.25. This represents a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter worth $2,357,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 17,760.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,436,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,298,340,000 after purchasing an additional 7,395,294 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 37.5% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 426.7% in the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 8,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 7,168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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