Robert W. Baird Cuts MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) Price Target to $175.00

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) had its price target cut by Robert W. Baird from $190.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 10.57% from the stock’s previous close.

MSA has been the subject of a number of other reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. B. Riley began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA Safety stock opened at $158.28 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $165.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 1.00. MSA Safety has a 52 week low of $153.79 and a 52 week high of $200.60.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 15.16%. Research analysts forecast that MSA Safety will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MSA Safety

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MSA Safety by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,883,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,825,000 after buying an additional 22,190 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $331,503,000 after acquiring an additional 173,210 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in MSA Safety by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in MSA Safety by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,504,000 after acquiring an additional 674,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,131,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,573,000 after purchasing an additional 271,264 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSA Safety

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.