MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Short Interest Up 21.1% in February

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) was the target of a large 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,825,000 after acquiring an additional 22,190 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $331,503,000 after acquiring an additional 173,210 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,504,000 after purchasing an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MSA shares. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.73. The stock had a trading volume of 192,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,278. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $148.59 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. On average, research analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.34%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 28.29%.

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.