MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Short Interest Update

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 417,200 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 344,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 169,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

MSA Safety Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $151.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $148.59 and a 52 week high of $200.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.63 and its 200 day moving average is $168.14. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of MSA Safety 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 23.5% during the 4th 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 period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MSA. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

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.