MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock Dropped to “Hold” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on MSA. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. B. Riley Financial cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of MSA opened at $182.41 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 52 week low of $151.10 and a 52 week high of $208.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 3.24.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $89,579.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at $721,216. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Nishan Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 109.3% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 74.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 623.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE: MSA) develops and manufactures safety products and systems designed to protect workers and facility operations. Its offerings include industrial and firefighter helmets, eye and face protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, protective clothing, and fall-protection equipment.

The company also provides portable and fixed gas-detection systems, flame detection and suppression technologies, thermal imaging cameras, and related software and services.