MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $159.94 and last traded at $161.11, with a volume of 22545 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $162.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. 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 on the stock. B. Riley began coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson assumed 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.50.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

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 $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.49.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.16% and a return on equity of 29.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 43.5% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,086,000 after buying an additional 133,373 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 748.6% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,303,000 after buying an additional 57,827 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in MSA Safety by 453.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,845,000 after purchasing an additional 34,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.