Brokerages Set MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Price Target at $197.00

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $197.00.

MSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

MSA Safety Stock Down 6.2 %

NYSE MSA opened at $134.16 on Friday. MSA Safety has a 1-year low of $133.95 and a 1-year high of $200.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $157.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. Equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its position in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Company Profile

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.