Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA)

Stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.67% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.00.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $174.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.68. MSA Safety has a one year low of $160.02 and a one year high of $200.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $172.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.20.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The firm had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the second quarter valued at approximately $210,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter worth $4,149,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 770,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,642,000 after purchasing an additional 22,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 219.8% in the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 306,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,610,000 after purchasing an additional 210,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About MSA Safety

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.