MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MSA Safety shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $176.01 versus the $178.13 average, and last traded near $177.13.
• Analysts broadly view the stock as a “Hold”: two rate it Buy and four Hold, with a consensus price target of $211.33. Recent actions included price-target increases as well as downgrades to Neutral or Hold.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.40 per share and revenue of $503.33 million, both above expectations, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year. MSA also pays a $0.54 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $178.13 and traded as low as $176.01. MSA Safety Incorporporated shares last traded at $177.1330, with a volume of 235,605 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSA. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. B. Riley Financial lowered 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. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 1.1%

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 business's fifty day moving average price is $183.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.13. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 0.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The business had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated's payout ratio is presently 26.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $721,216. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Nishan Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 value of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Giverny Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,034,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,611,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter valued at about $1,738,000. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3.6% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 588,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,496,000 after buying an additional 20,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2,490.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 89,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,628,000 after buying an additional 86,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated NYSE: MSA develops and manufactures safety products and systems designed to protect workers and facility operations. Its offerings include industrial and firefighter helmets, eye and face protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, protective clothing, and fall-protection equipment.

The company also provides portable and fixed gas-detection systems, flame detection and suppression technologies, thermal imaging cameras, and related software and services.

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