Short Interest in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Increases By 21.1%

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 417,200 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 344,600 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 169,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $197.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,825,000 after purchasing an additional 22,190 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $331,503,000 after acquiring an additional 173,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,939,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $224,504,000 after acquiring an additional 674,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $187,573,000 after acquiring an additional 271,264 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $149.90. The stock had a trading volume of 672,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,620. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety has a 1-year low of $148.23 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.73.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.29%.

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.