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

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have 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 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $197.00.

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

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $158.27 on Tuesday. MSA Safety has a twelve month low of $153.79 and a twelve month high of $200.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $162.76 and its 200-day moving average is $169.82.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts predict that MSA Safety will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.