MSA Safety Incorporated (MSA) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 14th

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from MSA Safety’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47.

MSA Safety has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. MSA Safety has a payout ratio of 22.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect MSA Safety to earn $8.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.8%.

MSA Safety Price Performance

MSA Safety stock opened at $183.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MSA Safety has a 12 month low of $126.75 and a 12 month high of $196.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.56 and its 200-day moving average is $173.73.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $428.38 million. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 31.51% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MSA Safety will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,363. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total transaction of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 4,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.75, for a total transaction of $761,389.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,593,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock valued at $3,056,181 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSA Safety from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSA Safety has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

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.