Brokerages Set MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Target Price at $202.50

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $202.50.

MSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 486.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 690.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 985.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the second quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $162.87 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. MSA Safety has a fifty-two week low of $153.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. MSA Safety’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is 29.48%.

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.