MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $153.79 and last traded at $155.18, with a volume of 6747 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSA. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.50.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $170.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.98. 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 market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06 and a beta of 1.00.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The business had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. MSA Safety's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 11.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,334 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,509,000 after buying an additional 4,497 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter worth $795,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 738,951 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $138,695,000 after purchasing an additional 22,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,322,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.