Brokerages Set MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) PT at $205.00

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $202.50.

Several research analysts have issued reports on MSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. 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 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $168.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.66. MSA Safety has a twelve month low of $160.02 and a twelve month high of $200.60. 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 (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 11.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,509,000 after purchasing an additional 4,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in MSA Safety in the 2nd quarter valued at $795,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 738,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,695,000 after buying an additional 22,979 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the second quarter worth $2,322,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 2,362.5% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after acquiring an additional 10,844 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.