Is Now The Time To Look At Buying MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)?

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA), is not the largest company out there, but it led the NYSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. As a well-established company, which tends to be well-covered by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s examine MSA Safety’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

View our latest analysis for MSA Safety

Is MSA Safety Still Cheap?

The stock is currently trading at US$169 on the share market, which means it is overvalued by 38% compared to my intrinsic value of $121.88. Not the best news for investors looking to buy! Another thing to keep in mind is that MSA Safety’s share price is quite stable relative to the market, as indicated by its low beta. This means that if you believe the current share price should move towards its intrinsic value over time, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.

What kind of growth will MSA Safety generate?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. However, with a relatively muted revenue growth of 6.8% expected in the upcoming year, short term growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for MSA Safety.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? MSA’s future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above its fair value. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I sell? If you believe MSA should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards its real value can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on MSA for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its true value, which means there’s no upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about MSA Safety as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. For example, MSA Safety has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

If you are no longer interested in MSA Safety, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.