Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 5,337 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSA. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in MSA Safety by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety by 198.8% in the 2nd 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 lifted its position in shares of MSA Safety by 50.7% in the 1st 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 valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new position in MSA Safety during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

MSA Safety Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MSA opened at $180.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.45. MSA Safety Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $147.35 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 0.99.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.01 EPS 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 company had revenue of $462.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.30 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSA Safety Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is 30.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair upgraded MSA Safety to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on MSA Safety from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Transactions at MSA Safety

In other news, CEO Nishan J. Vartanian sold 3,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.00, for a total value of $745,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,039,117. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

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.