MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $153.25 and last traded at $154.12, with a volume of 9348 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $155.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MSA. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.36 and its 200-day moving average is $169.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was 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 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. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,825,000 after buying an additional 22,190 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,503,000 after purchasing an additional 173,210 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in MSA Safety by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,504,000 after purchasing an additional 674,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,573,000 after purchasing an additional 271,264 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.