MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $202.50.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. 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 target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock.

MSA Safety Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MSA traded up $3.27 on Monday, hitting $159.58. 137,741 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,434. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.98. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06 and a beta of 1.00. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $153.79 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. MSA Safety's payout ratio is 29.48%.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MSA Safety by 27.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety by 43.5% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440,316 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,086,000 after purchasing an additional 133,373 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 748.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,303,000 after acquiring an additional 57,827 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in MSA Safety by 453.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,799 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,845,000 after acquiring an additional 34,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.