MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $147.77 and last traded at $148.07, with a volume of 176569 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.17 and a 200-day moving average of $167.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 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 (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,007. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Company Profile

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.