MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Stock Rating Upgraded by B. Riley

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) was upgraded by research analysts at B. Riley to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $167.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.67. MSA Safety has a 1 year low of $157.34 and a 1 year high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $432.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. MSA Safety’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,191 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in MSA Safety by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 32,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 18,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,660,000 after buying an additional 7,324 shares in the last quarter. 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.