CGNT vs MSA Stock Comparison

Cognyte Software and MSA Safety Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CGNT Cognyte Software Ltd.
$9.97 +17.0% 1M +19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$728.59M
P/E
208.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$421.71M
Div. yield
–
Analytics and BI Technology
2 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$182.59 +0.1% 1M +8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.05B
P/E
22.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.17%
Power Tools Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 7, Cognyte Software 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCGNTMSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $728.59M $7.05B MSA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 208.3x 22.5x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.8x 19.6x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.0% +6.5% CGNT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.8% 16.1% MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 15.9% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.17% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.0% +8.6% CGNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.7%/yr +3.7%/yr MSA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.2% 25.5% MSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 77/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

CGNTMSA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCGNTMSA
Valuation 85 #7 of 41 62 #26 of 67
Growth 97 #2 of 38 93 #5 of 54
Profitability 80 #8 of 36 98 #2 of 53
Financial Health 70 #15 of 48 70 #25 of 82
Shareholder Returns 31 #10 of 14 62 #15 of 39
Overall 73 77
  • CGNT ranked among 51 companies in Business Applications
  • MSA ranked among 82 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCGNTMSASPY
1 month +17.0%+0.1% -0.8%
3 months +14.5%+4.0% +3.5%
6 months +5.6%+6.8% +7.0%
Year to date +6.1%+14.0% +12.2%
1 year +19.0%+8.6% +13.0%
3 years +148.0%+15.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +35.4%+5.0% +23.1%
5 years -52.2%+20.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -13.7%+3.7% +11.0%
10 years —+228.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+12.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCGNTMSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.2%25.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.6%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.310.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.360.34 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.3%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.5%-10.1% -1.8%
52-week high $12.24$203.08 $779.14
52-week low $6.34$152.94 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCGNTMSA
P/E now vs peer median 208.3xmedian 20.8x 22.5xmedian 22.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.5x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 21.3x 15.3xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 25.2x 19.9xmedian 20.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.1x 5.0xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 7.73median 2.04 0.12median 0.76

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCGNTMSA
Revenue $421.71M $1.95B
Gross profit $307.70M $925.88M
Operating income $17.43M $413.17M
Net income $4.85M $314.01M
Free cash flow $28.96M $354.30M
R&D $127.59M $68.19M
EPS (diluted) $0.05 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $102.17M $200.06M
Total debt – $599.74M
Shares (diluted) 72.91M 38.70M
Enterprise value $317.93M $6.33B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCGNTMSA
P/E 208.3x 22.5x
P/FCF 25.2x 19.9x
P/Operating cash flow 17.6x 17.4x
P/S 1.7x 3.6x
P/B 3.3x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 6.3x
EV/EBITDA 21.3x 15.3x
EV/EBIT 35.9x 18.0x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 3.8x
EV/FCF 21.6x 21.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.1x 18.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 7.73 0.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCGNTMSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.0% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.3% 8.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.1% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 406.0% 10.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 34.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 202.7% 13.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 27.4% 186.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 201.4% 15.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 188.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 56.8% 26.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.0% 96.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 53.0% 40.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 66.3% 72.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCGNTMSA
Gross margin 73.0% 47.6%
EBITDA margin 7.0% 25.1%
Operating margin 4.1% 21.2%
Pretax margin 3.1% 21.1%
Net margin 0.8% 16.1%
FCF margin 6.9% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 9.8% 20.9%
Return on equity 2.2% 22.8%
Return on assets 0.9% 12.2%
Return on invested capital – 15.9%
Return on capital employed 5.9% 18.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 8.5x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 5.3% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCGNTMSA
Debt / assets – 23.1%
Debt / equity – 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 56.6% 46.1%
Equity / assets 43.4% 53.9%
Interest coverage 113.9x 12.7x
Current ratio 1.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 2.22 5.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCGNTMSA
Dividend yield – 1.2%
Net buyback yield -2.8% 1.8%
Shareholder yield -2.8% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCGNTMSA
Forward P/E 20.8xFY2026 19.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.48FY2026 $9.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +71.4%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +68.8% +3.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $426.78MFY2026 $1.98BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.3% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCGNTMSA
Held by institutions 67.2% 91.0%
Institutions holding 133 457
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.8% +3.0%
Institutions buying 75 236
Institutions selling 33 147
Buyers to sellers 2.27 1.61

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CGNTMSA
CGNT 1.00 -0.03
MSA -0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CGNT and MSA?

MSA Safety (MSA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cognyte Software (CGNT) $728.59M, MSA Safety (MSA) $7.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, CGNT and MSA?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cognyte Software (CGNT) 208.3x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (Cognyte Software (CGNT) 20.8x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cognyte Software (CGNT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cognyte Software (CGNT) +12.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (Cognyte Software (CGNT) 0.8%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cognyte Software (CGNT) returned the most: Cognyte Software (CGNT) +19.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) +8.6%. Over five years, MSA Safety (MSA) compounded fastest (Cognyte Software (CGNT) -13.7%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: MSA Safety (MSA) 1.17%. Cognyte Software (CGNT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MSA Safety (MSA) has been the steadiest (Cognyte Software (CGNT) 52.2%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CGNT and MSA move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of -0.03, a negative relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CGNT and MSA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, MSA Safety (MSA) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.