MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $223.00 target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MSA opened at $191.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.45. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $151.10 and a 12-month high of $208.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The firm 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%.MSA Safety Incorporporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total transaction of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total value of $3,879,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 50,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 94.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Company Profile

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.