Head-To-Head Survey: Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) & MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA)

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) and MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Ingersoll Rand has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MSA Safety Incorporporated has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.3% of Ingersoll Rand shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.5% of MSA Safety Incorporporated shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ingersoll Rand shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of MSA Safety Incorporporated shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and MSA Safety Incorporporated”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ingersoll Rand	$7.65 billion	4.16	$581.40 million	$3.55	23.37
MSA Safety Incorporporated	$1.87 billion	3.50	$278.92 million	$7.78	21.84

Ingersoll Rand has higher revenue and earnings than MSA Safety Incorporporated. MSA Safety Incorporporated is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ingersoll Rand, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Ingersoll Rand and MSA Safety Incorporporated, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ingersoll Rand	0	3	5	0	2.62
MSA Safety Incorporporated	0	4	2	0	2.33

Ingersoll Rand currently has a consensus price target of $95.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.52%. MSA Safety Incorporporated has a consensus price target of $211.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.38%. Given MSA Safety Incorporporated’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe MSA Safety Incorporporated is more favorable than Ingersoll Rand.

Profitability

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and MSA Safety Incorporporated’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ingersoll Rand	17.20%	13.47%	7.57%
MSA Safety Incorporporated	15.03%	25.13%	13.39%

Dividends

Ingersoll Rand pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. MSA Safety Incorporporated pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ingersoll Rand pays out 2.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MSA Safety Incorporporated pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. MSA Safety Incorporporated has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years. MSA Safety Incorporporated is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Ingersoll Rand beats MSA Safety Incorporporated on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand Inc. provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc. The Precision and Science Technologies segment designs, manufactures, and markets diaphragm, piston, water-powered, peristaltic, gear, vane, progressive cavity, and syringe pumps; and gas boosters, hydrogen compression systems, automated liquid handling systems, odorant injection systems, controls, software, and other related components and accessories for liquid and gas dosing, transfer, dispensing, compression, sampling, pressure management, and flow control in specialized or critical applications under the Air Dimensions, Albin, ARO, Dosatron, Haskel, Ingersoll Rand, LMI, Maximus, Milton Roy, MP, Oberdorfer, Seepex, Thomas, Welch, Williams, YZ, and Zinnser Analytic brand names. This segment's products are used in medical, life sciences, industrial manufacturing, water and wastewater, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, agriculture, and other markets. It sells through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors. The company was formerly known as Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Ingersoll Rand Inc. in March 2020. Ingersoll Rand Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina.

About MSA Safety Incorporporated

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. The company's core product offerings include fixed gas and flame detection systems, such as gas detection monitoring systems, and flame detectors and open-path infrared gas detectors; breathing apparatus products, including self-contained breathing apparatus; hand-held portable gas detection instruments to detect the presence or absence of various gases in the air; industrial head protection products; firefighter helmets and protective apparel; and fall protection equipment, such as 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 products under the V-Gard, Cairns, and Gallet brand names. MSA Safety Incorporated was founded in 1914 and is based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.