MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Given New $175.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) had its price target trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA stock opened at $159.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.28. MSA Safety has a 12-month low of $153.79 and a 12-month high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. On average, analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSA. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in MSA Safety by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,504,000 after acquiring an additional 674,560 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,693,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,573,000 after buying an additional 271,264 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $43,689,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in MSA Safety by 554.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 284,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,170,000 after buying an additional 241,061 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.