MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $148.38 and last traded at $148.35, with a volume of 55344 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This 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 through this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSA Safety

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 120.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 81.3% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.