MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $153.79 and last traded at $155.18, with a volume of 6747 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSA. DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. B. Riley began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $202.50.

MSA Safety Stock Up 1.5 %

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.60. The company has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35 and a beta of 1.00.

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

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety in the fourth quarter worth about $1,131,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in MSA Safety by 63.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in MSA Safety by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 97,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the period. 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.