MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

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

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $182.29 on Friday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1-year low of $151.10 and a 1-year high of $208.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $185.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 0.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%. The company had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.27 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total value of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 50,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,762,352.76. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total transaction of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Giverny Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter valued at $29,034,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter worth $1,611,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter worth $1,738,000. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,115,000 after buying an additional 106,349 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3.6% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 588,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,496,000 after buying an additional 20,324 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops and manufactures safety products and systems designed to protect workers and facility occupants in hazardous environments. Its solutions are used across industries including construction, manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas, mining, emergency services, and public safety.

The company’s product portfolio includes industrial head, face, eye, and hearing protection; fire and rescue helmets and protective equipment; respiratory protection; portable and fixed gas-detection instruments; fall-protection systems; thermal-imaging cameras; and related software and connected safety technologies.