MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Short Interest Down 27.0% in August

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 226,100 shares, a drop of 27.0% from the August 15th total of 309,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 157,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

MSA Safety Trading Up 2.0 %

MSA opened at $176.43 on Friday. MSA Safety has a 1-year low of $147.35 and a 1-year high of $200.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $181.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.59.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.04. MSA Safety had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 30.64%. The business had revenue of $462.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.30 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 30.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSA shares. William Blair raised shares of MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In related news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total transaction of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of MSA Safety by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in MSA Safety by 198.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 50.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety during the fourth quarter worth $142,000. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of MSA Safety in the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.