MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports. B. Riley also issued estimates for MSA Safety’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.99 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.44 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.81 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.60 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $9.61 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.54 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.50.

MSA Safety Price Performance

Shares of MSA stock traded up $1.84 on Monday, hitting $174.73. 12,995 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,105. The company has a 50 day moving average of $173.37 and a 200 day moving average of $180.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.56. MSA Safety has a 12 month low of $157.34 and a 12 month high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $432.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $449.95 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSA Safety will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSA Safety

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 198.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 486.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 985.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the first quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety in the second quarter worth about $204,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently 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.