Stifel Nicolaus Raises MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Price Target to $215.00

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) had its target price boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, William Blair raised MSA Safety to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $192.50.

MSA Safety Trading Down 0.5 %

MSA Safety stock opened at $188.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.25. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $147.35 and a 52 week high of $200.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $428.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 11,000 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.29, for a total value of $2,038,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,524,472. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 219.8% during the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 306,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,610,000 after buying an additional 210,968 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 770,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $144,642,000 after buying an additional 22,366 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,149,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.