MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) to Repurchase $500.00 million in Outstanding Shares

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Thursday, February 12th. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson raised their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $186.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.17.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $195.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.36. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.12. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 14.88% and a return on equity of 24.48%. The company had revenue of $510.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $223,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,234 shares in the company, valued at $658,054.32. The trade was a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.