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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Trading Down 3.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.49.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 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.