Wall Street Zen Upgrades MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) to Buy

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

MSA has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial cut MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:MSA opened at $188.73 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $181.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.79. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 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 has a 12 month low of $151.10 and a 12 month high of $208.92.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 25.13%. The company had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. MSA Safety Incorporporated’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, CAO Jonathan Buck sold 469 shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value 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 approximately $721,216. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Nishan Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.99, for a total transaction of $3,879,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,352.76. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Giverny Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in the second quarter worth $29,034,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter valued at $2,357,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 17,760.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,436,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,298,340,000 after buying an additional 7,395,294 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 2nd quarter worth about $247,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.