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

Key Points

• MSA Safety shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $184.33 before trading near $182.48, compared with the $174.63 average.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly neutral: two analysts rate the stock Buy and four rate it Hold, with an average price target of $211.33.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.40, beating estimates by $0.26, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year; it also pays a $2.16 annual dividend, yielding about 1.2%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $174.63 and traded as high as $184.33. MSA Safety Incorporporated shares last traded at $182.4820, with a volume of 213,426 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSA shares. B. Riley Financial lowered MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Up 0.2%

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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.63. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.94.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, Chairman Nishan Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 50,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,762,352.76. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $721,216. This trade represents a 11.05% 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSA. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 109.3% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops and manufactures safety equipment and systems designed to protect people in hazardous work environments. Its products include industrial and fixed-gas detection instruments, respiratory protection equipment, hard hats and other head protection, eye and face protection, hearing protection, fall-protection systems, and connected safety technologies.

The company serves customers in industries such as construction, manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas, mining, and emergency response.

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