MSA Safety (MSA) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $7.27B
• Dividend Yield: 1.3%
• Average Volume (3M): 215.89K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 22.5
• Beta (1Y): 0.93
• Revenue Growth: 3.31%
• EPS Growth: 2.58%
• Country: US
• Employees: 5,000
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Security & Protection Services
• EPS (TTM): 2.38
• Shares Outstanding: 38,774,723
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 214,728
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 215,889
• PEG Ratio: -12.54
• Price to Book (P/B): 4.59
• Price to Sales (P/S): 3.35
• P/FCF Ratio: 21.26
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.07
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 4.16
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 8.96
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 16.49
• 1Y Price Target: $209.40
• Price Target Upside: 11.61% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 6
• EPS Forecast (FY): 8.73
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $1.98B

• Rating: 72 Outperform
• Price Target: $217.00 ▲(15.67% Upside)
• Action: Upgraded Date: 02/26/26
• Date: Action: Upgraded 02/26/26

The score is driven primarily by solid financial quality (strong margins/ROE with manageable leverage) but tempered by uneven cash-flow trends. Technicals are supportive with a clear uptrend and positive momentum. Valuation is a mild headwind due to a premium P/E and low yield, while earnings-call guidance is constructive but carries timing and cost-pressure risks; the larger buyback adds a modest positive.

Positive Factors

Strong profitability and returns

MSA exhibits durable margin strength and high ROE, indicating efficient operations and profitable product mix. Sustained gross and net margins provide internal cash for reinvestment, support resilience through cycles, and underpin long-term return on capital even if revenue growth is modest.

Healthy balance sheet and liquidity

Low net leverage and ample liquidity give MSA structural optionality for M&A, capex, and shareholder returns without stressing covenants. A stronger capital structure improves resilience to cyclical revenue swings and funds strategic investments while keeping financing risk limited.

Detection growth and product innovation

Detection is now the largest, faster-growing product category and benefits from recurring systems and large orders. Ongoing product launches and connected offerings (MSA+) increase recurring value and upsell potential, creating a durable structural growth engine and margin tailwind.

Negative Factors

Volatile cash flow and recent FCF decline

Despite profitable earnings, free cash flow has been inconsistent with a large TTM decline, reducing financial flexibility. Variability in operating cash flow can constrain organic investment, M&A pacing, and buybacks during weak periods, raising execution risk over the next several quarters.

Fire service demand timing and order lumpiness

Significant timing-driven declines in fire service create pronounced revenue lumpiness and forecasting risk. Heavy reliance on grant cycles and government deliveries makes near-term revenue and margin visibility weak, potentially delaying recovery even if demand resumes later.

Margin pressure from tariffs, inflation and FX

Structural cost pressures—tariffs, inflation and FX—have compressed margins internationally and domestically. Sustained headwinds require persistent pricing and productivity gains to restore incremental margins; failure to fully offset these costs would weaken profitability durability.

MSA Safety Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures in the oil, gas, petrochemical, fire service, construction, industrial manufacturing applications, utilities, military, and mining industries in North America, Latin America, and internationally. The company's core product offerings include permanently installed fixed gas and flame detection instruments, such as permanently installed gas detection monitoring systems, and flame detectors and open-path infrared gas detectors, as well as replacement components and related services to detect the presence or absence of various gases in the air. Its core product offerings also comprise breathing apparatus products, such as self-contained breathing apparatus; hand-held portable gas detection instruments; industrial head protection products; firefighter helmets and protective apparel; and fall protection equipment, including confined space equipment, harnesses, lanyards, and self-retracting lifelines, as well as engineered systems. In addition, the company offers air-purifying respirators, eye and face protection products, ballistic helmets, and gas masks. It serves distributors and end-users through indirect and direct sales channels. The company offers its product under the V-Gard, Cairns, and Gallet brand names. MSA Safety Incorporated was founded in 1914 and is based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.

How the Company Makes Money

MSA Safety generates revenue primarily through the sale of its safety products and solutions across multiple industries. The company's revenue model is built on direct sales to end-users, distribution partnerships, and maintenance contracts for its safety systems. Key revenue streams include the sale of personal protective equipment (PPE), gas detection systems, and safety management software. MSA also benefits from long-term contracts with governmental agencies and large corporations, which provide stable income sources. Strategic partnerships with distributors and safety training organizations further enhance its market reach and contribute to its earnings by expanding its customer base and service offerings.

MSA Safety Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong profitability and returns (TTM net margin ~15% and ROE ~23%) with manageable leverage (~0.5 debt-to-equity). The main offset is weaker cash consistency, highlighted by a steep TTM free-cash-flow decline and variability in operating cash flow.

Income Statement

MSA Safety shows solid profitability and a clear step-up in earnings power versus earlier years. TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) revenue is $1.87B with strong margins (gross margin ~46.5%, net margin ~15.0%), broadly consistent with 2024’s already-healthy margin profile. Revenue growth is modest in 2024 (~1.1%) but accelerates sharply in TTM (reported ~60.2%). A key watch-out is volatility in profitability across the cycle (e.g., much lower net margin in 2021 and 2023), which suggests earnings can be sensitive to one-time items or operating swings.

Balance Sheet

Balance sheet quality is good, supported by a growing equity base ($1.37B in TTM vs. $1.14B in 2024) and strong returns on shareholders’ capital (TTM return on equity ~22.9%; 2024 ~24.9%). Leverage appears manageable with debt-to-equity around ~0.5 in the last two periods (improving from ~0.78 in 2021), indicating a healthier capital structure than a few years ago. The main weakness is that leverage has been higher historically (2021–2023), so while the trajectory looks better, the company has shown periods of heavier balance-sheet reliance.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is positive but less consistent than reported earnings momentum. In TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months), operating cash flow is $241.5M and free cash flow is $173.1M, with free cash flow covering ~81.0% of net income—reasonable conversion. However, free cash flow growth in TTM is sharply negative (reported -38.8%) versus modestly positive growth in 2024 (~3.8%), and operating cash flow has shown meaningful variability (notably weak in 2023). Overall, cash flow supports profitability, but the recent decline in free cash flow reduces financial flexibility relative to last year.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	1.87B	1.81B	1.79B	1.53B	1.40B
Gross Profit	871.11M	860.45M	852.14M	673.83M	615.35M
EBITDA	473.57M	476.23M	314.19M	316.51M	84.68M
Net Income	278.92M	284.97M	58.58M	179.63M	21.34M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.55B	2.21B	2.17B	2.38B	2.40B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	165.07M	164.56M	146.44M	172.81M	190.41M
Total Debt	627.09M	554.00M	646.19M	608.18M	638.36M
Total Liabilities	1.19B	1.06B	1.20B	1.45B	1.56B
Stockholders Equity	1.37B	1.14B	966.80M	923.74M	834.39M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	295.43M	242.21M	50.09M	113.51M	150.02M
Operating Cash Flow	363.87M	296.43M	92.86M	157.46M	199.15M
Investing Cash Flow	-257.63M	-53.76M	-39.95M	-4.48M	-415.47M
Financing Cash Flow	-105.47M	-208.69M	-52.25M	-113.35M	203.93M

MSA Safety Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Neutral
• Last Price: 187.61
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For MSA, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 187.61 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 195.79, above the 50-day MA of 182.49, and above the 200-day MA of 170.32, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 2.75 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 44.04 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 23.34 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for MSA.

MSA Safety Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
BRC	78 Outperform	$4.23B	21.28	16.78%	1.23%	11.20%	0.71%
NSSC	78 Outperform	$1.52B	27.53	26.42%	1.29%	-2.28%	-9.94%
MSA	72 Outperform	$7.27B	22.52	22.22%	1.30%	3.31%	2.58%
ADT	70 Outperform	$5.53B	10.53	15.84%	2.73%	4.77%	-22.78%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
BCO	62 Neutral	$5.06B	24.49	86.51%	0.85%	3.07%	48.57%
REZI	56 Neutral	$5.44B	-9.93	-16.93%	―	15.45%	-488.24%

MSA Safety Corporate Events

MSA Safety Announces Expanded $500 Million Share Buyback

On February 20, 2026, MSA Safety’s board approved a new share repurchase program authorizing up to $500 million of common stock buybacks, replacing a prior $200 million plan from 2024 with no set termination date. The company said the timing, price and volume of repurchases will depend on market conditions and legal factors, and it can modify or suspend the program at any time.

Chief executive Steve Blanco framed the larger authorization as a sign of confidence in MSA’s ability to sustain strong free cash flow and execute its Accelerate growth strategy while maintaining a balanced capital deployment approach. The move underscores the board’s intent to return capital to shareholders and could bolster earnings per share, reinforcing MSA’s positioning as a financially disciplined safety-products leader.

The most recent analyst rating on (MSA) stock is a Buy with a $235.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on MSA Safety stock, see the MSA Stock Forecast page.

MSA Safety Announces Planned Retirement of International President

MSA Safety announced that David J. Howells, Senior Vice President and President of MSA International, has notified the company of his intention to retire effective June 30, 2026. The company does not plan to directly replace his role and instead will redistribute his responsibilities among senior personnel within the MSA International segment, who will manage the business while reporting directly to the chief executive officer, signaling a move toward a more streamlined leadership structure for its international operations.

The most recent analyst rating on (MSA) stock is a Buy with a $184.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on MSA Safety stock, see the MSA Stock Forecast page.