MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $205.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSA. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company.

MSA Safety Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE:MSA opened at $164.46 on Thursday. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $160.02 and a 52 week high of $200.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. MSA Safety’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MSA Safety will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety in the second quarter valued at approximately $210,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,149,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in MSA Safety by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 770,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $144,642,000 after acquiring an additional 22,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 219.8% in the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 306,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,610,000 after acquiring an additional 210,968 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSA Safety

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.