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

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of MSA stock opened at $193.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $170.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1 year low of $127.86 and a 1 year high of $194.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 0.98.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total transaction of $53,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $713,874. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSA. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 13,501 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 44.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

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.