MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) Cut to “Neutral” at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $195.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $210.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $235.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $193.11 on Monday. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a 12-month low of $151.10 and a 12-month high of $208.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $503.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.87%.

Insider Activity

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CFO Julie A. Beck purchased 448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $158.69 per share, for a total transaction of $71,093.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,989.25. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total transaction of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,792,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $607,365,000 after buying an additional 82,305 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 1,811,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,115,000 after acquiring an additional 106,349 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 899,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,971,000 after acquiring an additional 74,410 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 764,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,460,000 after acquiring an additional 9,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC lifted its position in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. M&G PLC now owns 728,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,596,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company’s offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA’s products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height.

Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems.