MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.51 Per Share

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date 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 by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 54 years. MSA Safety has a payout ratio of 22.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MSA opened at $183.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $187.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.73. MSA Safety has a 52-week low of $126.75 and a 52-week high of $196.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.01.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 31.51% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MSA Safety will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of MSA Safety stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.50, for a total value of $56,577.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 305 shares of the firm’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 value of $56,577.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,363. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was 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 approximately $12,593,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,504 shares of company stock worth $3,056,181 in the last quarter. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.