Wall Street Zen Downgrades MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) to Hold

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MSA. DA Davidson set a $223.00 price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $197.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial downgraded MSA Safety Incorporporated from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $210.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSA opened at $179.12 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.02. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $503.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.27 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 25.13% and a net margin of 16.13%.The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety Incorporporated

In other MSA Safety Incorporporated news, Chairman Nishan J. Vartanian sold 20,000 shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 50,324 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,352.76. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total transaction of $89,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,776 shares in the company, valued at $721,216. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety Incorporporated

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter worth about $1,611,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2,222.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 623.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 2,490.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 89,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,628,000 after buying an additional 86,061 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

MSA Safety Incorporated develops and manufactures safety equipment and systems designed to protect people in hazardous work environments. Its products include industrial and fixed-gas detection instruments, respiratory protection equipment, hard hats and other head protection, eye and face protection, hearing protection, fall-protection systems, and connected safety technologies.

The company serves customers in industries such as construction, manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas, mining, and emergency response.