Graham Capital Management L.P. Raises Holdings in MSA Safety Incorporporated $MSA

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporated by 25.1%, owning 19,906 shares worth approximately $2.92 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• MSA Safety Incorporated reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a revenue increase of 2.5% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 1.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 30.24%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,993 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.05% of MSA Safety Incorporporated worth $2,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 438,374 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,669,000 after buying an additional 117,758 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,918 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,601,000 after acquiring an additional 13,682 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in MSA Safety Incorporporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in MSA Safety Incorporporated by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 448,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,279,000 after buying an additional 65,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of MSA Safety Incorporporated from $183.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $189.20.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Price Performance

NYSE:MSA traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.31. The stock had a trading volume of 166,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 3.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 0.95. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a one year low of $127.86 and a one year high of $187.41.

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $474.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.46 million. MSA Safety Incorporporated had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 15.15%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that MSA Safety Incorporporated will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MSA Safety Incorporporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. MSA Safety Incorporporated's payout ratio is 30.24%.

MSA Safety Incorporporated 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.