MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $147.77 and last traded at $148.07, with a volume of 176569 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $151.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.03.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 28.29%.

Insider Activity at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 78.4% in the fourth 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. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MSA Safety by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its position in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.