EntryPoint Capital LLC Invests $310,000 in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSA Safety by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MSA Safety by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson began coverage on MSA Safety in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

NYSE MSA opened at $151.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.61.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. MSA Safety’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSA Safety

In other news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,673 shares in the company, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.