KMT vs ITW vs MSA Stock Comparison

Kennametal, Illinois Tool Works and MSA Safety Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KMT Kennametal Inc
$29.77 -4.1% 1M +30.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.28B
P/E
6.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.36B
Div. yield
0.03%
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.01 +0.7% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.95B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.47B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$182.59 +0.1% 1M +8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.94B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 5, Kennametal 5, MSA Safety 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKMTITWMSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.28B $78.95B $6.94B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.7x 24.7x 22.1x KMT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.7x 25.9x 19.6x KMT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.8% +4.3% +6.5% KMT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 19.4% 16.1% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.5% 27.1% 15.9% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.9x 0.8x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.02% 0.00% KMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +30.9% +12.3% +8.6% KMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.9%/yr +4.4%/yr +3.7%/yr ITW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.4% 21.3% 25.5% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 48/100 77/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

KMTITWMSA

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

AxisKMTITWMSA
Valuation 71 #59 of 203 26 #150 of 203 55 #91 of 203
Growth 76 #45 of 187 33 #125 of 187 86 #27 of 187
Profitability 70 #56 of 185 100 #2 of 185 97 #7 of 185
Financial Health 52 #105 of 219 23 #170 of 219 76 #53 of 219
Shareholder Returns 54 #71 of 153 59 #63 of 153 73 #42 of 153
Overall 65 48 77
  • KMT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKMTITWMSASPY
1 month -4.1%+0.7%+0.1% -0.8%
3 months -15.7%-3.0%+4.0% +3.5%
6 months -24.9%+2.3%+6.8% +7.0%
Year to date +4.8%+12.1%+14.0% +12.2%
1 year +30.9%+12.3%+8.6% +13.0%
3 years +32.3%+23.6%+15.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +9.8%+7.3%+5.0% +23.1%
5 years -22.2%+24.2%+20.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.9%+4.4%+3.7% +11.0%
10 years +3.0%+143.4%+228.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +0.3%+9.3%+12.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKMTITWMSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.4%21.3%25.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.0%20.8%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.320.470.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.690.580.34 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.4%-28.9%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.2%-7.9%-10.1% -1.8%
52-week high $43.27$299.60$203.08 $779.14
52-week low $21.95$241.07$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.

MultipleKMTITWMSA
P/E now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 26.0x 24.7xmedian 26.0x 22.5xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 14.0x 18.4xmedian 14.0x 15.3xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -28.0xmedian 21.4x 26.9xmedian 21.4x 19.9xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 2.2x 27.2xmedian 2.2x 5.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.15median 1.26 8.37median 1.26 0.12median 1.26

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 monthsKMTITWMSA
Revenue $2.36B $16.47B $1.95B
Gross profit $969.96M $7.27B $925.88M
Operating income $472.53M $4.36B $413.17M
Net income $350.41M $3.19B $314.01M
Free cash flow -$80.91M $2.92B $354.30M
R&D – – $68.19M
EPS (diluted) $4.42 $11.13 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $95.79M $839.00M $200.06M
Total debt $717.45M $9.69B $599.74M
Shares (diluted) 77.42M 287.00M 38.70M
Enterprise value $1.85B $75.51B $6.22B

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
MetricKMTITWMSA
P/E 6.6x 24.7x 22.5x
P/FCF -28.0x 26.9x 19.9x
P/Operating cash flow -566.1x 23.6x 17.4x
P/S 1.0x 4.8x 3.6x
P/B 1.4x 27.2x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 33.6x 6.3x
EV/EBITDA 4.7x 18.4x 15.3x
EV/EBIT 6.1x 20.0x 18.0x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 5.3x 3.8x
EV/FCF -35.7x 29.9x 21.0x
EV/Operating cash flow -721.2x 26.3x 18.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.15 8.37 0.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKMTITWMSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.8% 4.3% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 0.8% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.2% 5.3% 8.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 2.7% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 230.2% 6.4% 10.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.9% 3.4% 34.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 255.0% -5.1% 13.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.6% 1.0% 186.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 269.9% -3.1% 15.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 3.0% 188.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -101.9% 5.8% 26.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.3% 3.1% 96.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -167.8% 7.2% 40.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -35.6% 4.1% 72.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKMTITWMSA
Gross margin 41.2% 44.2% 47.6%
EBITDA margin 26.1% 28.9% 25.1%
Operating margin 20.1% 26.5% 21.2%
Pretax margin 19.6% 25.0% 21.1%
Net margin 14.5% 19.4% 16.1%
FCF margin -3.4% 17.7% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin -0.2% 20.2% 20.9%
Return on equity 23.3% 104.3% 22.8%
Return on assets 11.9% 19.5% 12.2%
Return on invested capital 16.5% 27.1% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 20.8% 41.9% 18.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.0x 1.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 0.4% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKMTITWMSA
Debt / assets 22.7% 58.8% 23.1%
Debt / equity 0.4x 3.3x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.9x 0.8x
Debt / FCF -8.9x 3.3x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 49.1% 82.4% 46.1%
Equity / assets 50.9% 17.6% 53.9%
Interest coverage 16.5x 14.5x 12.7x
Current ratio 2.6x 1.1x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 3.18 8.00 5.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKMTITWMSA
Dividend yield 2.7% 2.4% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.8% 2.3% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 3.5% 4.7% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% 57.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) -75.2% 62.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -1.6% 5.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 5.1% –

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.

ConsensusKMTITWMSA
Forward P/E 5.7xFY2027 25.9xFY2026 19.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.25FY2027 $10.67FY2026 $9.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.9%FY2027 +1.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -57.9% +19.3% +3.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.22BFY2027 $16.46BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +36.5%FY2027 +2.6%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.7% +11.4% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKMTITWMSA
Held by institutions 100.0% 84.9% 91.0%
Institutions holding 337 1,969 457
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.5% +0.8% +3.0%
Institutions buying 198 846 236
Institutions selling 95 750 147
Buyers to sellers 2.08 1.13 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.

KMTITWMSA
KMT 1.00 0.47 0.47
ITW 0.47 1.00 0.55
MSA 0.47 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KMT, ITW and MSA?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kennametal (KMT) $2.28B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.95B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.94B.

Which stock is cheaper, KMT, ITW and MSA?

Kennametal (KMT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kennametal (KMT) 6.7x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.7x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kennametal (KMT) is cheapest (Kennametal (KMT) 5.7x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, 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?

Kennametal (KMT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kennametal (KMT) +19.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Kennametal (KMT) 14.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Kennametal (KMT) 16.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kennametal (KMT) returned the most: Kennametal (KMT) +30.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +8.6%. Over five years, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) compounded fastest (Kennametal (KMT) -4.9%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.4%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest dividend yield: Kennametal (KMT) 0.03%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, MSA Safety (MSA) 0.00%. MSA Safety (MSA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Kennametal (KMT) 44.4%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KMT, ITW 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, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads on 5. 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.