MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Upgraded to “Buy” 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 sent to investors on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

MSA has been the subject of several other research reports. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

MSA Safety Incorporporated stock opened at $188.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $181.55 and a 200-day moving average of $175.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The business had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.27 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio is 26.87%.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In related news, CFO Julie Beck acquired 448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $158.69 per share, with a total value of $71,093.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSA. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 95,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,347,000 after buying an additional 9,840 shares during the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lifted 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 valued at $290,115,000 after buying an additional 106,349 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,738,000. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 588,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,496,000 after acquiring an additional 20,324 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,604,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.