MSA Safety Inc (MSA) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

MSA Safety's P/E of 21.9 is below its own 5-year median of 27.3.

P/E below the industry

MSA Safety's P/E of 21.9 is below the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of 27.7.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

MSA Safety's EV/EBITDA of 14.7 is below its 5-year median of 18.6.

P/S above the industry

MSA Safety's price-to-sales of 3.49 is above the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of 2.82 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

Trading below fair value

The share price of $176.24 is below our fair value estimate of $217.09.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 18.8% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 7.1% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 15.8% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew 13.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 17.6% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 6.5% over the last twelve months; the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median is 11.0%.

Company guidance

No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 47.6% over the last twelve months, against 46.8% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on invested capital

Needs operating income and invested capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 17.6% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 16.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 9.4%.

Net margin above the industry

MSA Safety's net margin of 16.1% is above the Surgical, Medical, and Dental Instruments and Supplies median of -14.1%.

Debt level

Needs debt and equity figures.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 67.7% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 12.7 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 3.24 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 5.86; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

MSA Safety paid dividends worth 1.2% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.2% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; MSA Safety yields 1.2%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 7 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 26.4% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 23.4% of free cash flow.