Julie Beck Acquires 448 Shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Stock

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) CFO Julie Beck acquired 448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA opened at $159.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $167.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.27. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 1 year low of $151.10 and a 1 year high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $463.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.28 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 24.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from MSA Safety Incorporporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s payout ratio is presently 29.19%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety Incorporporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $158,997,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,999,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,878,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1,447.3% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 363,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,159,000 after acquiring an additional 339,705 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 4,827.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 338,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,230,000 after acquiring an additional 331,543 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. National Bank Financial set a $235.00 target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.00.

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.