MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

MSA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $175.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.20.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $157.07 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.47. MSA Safety has a 12 month low of $127.86 and a 12 month high of $200.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. MSA Safety had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 28.64%. The company had revenue of $421.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. MSA Safety’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $362,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,345,000 after buying an additional 6,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 124,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,468,000 after buying an additional 26,470 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.