MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.51 Per Share

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This is an increase from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47.

MSA Safety has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. MSA Safety has a payout ratio of 22.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect MSA Safety to earn $8.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.8%.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

MSA Safety stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $183.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 134,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,327. MSA Safety has a 12-month low of $126.75 and a 12-month high of $196.02. The company has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.53.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 31.51%. The business had revenue of $413.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $428.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. MSA Safety’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MSA Safety news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.84, for a total value of $200,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,912.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,363. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock worth $3,056,181. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

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.