MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $202.50.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSA shares. DA Davidson assumed coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 486.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE:MSA opened at $165.52 on Friday. MSA Safety has a 1 year low of $153.79 and a 1 year high of $200.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92 and a beta of 1.00.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.