MSA vs VNT vs ITW Stock Comparison

MSA Safety, Vontier and Illinois Tool Works Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.23 -1.8% 1M +7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$6.92B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.19%
Power Tools Industrials
6 wins
VNT Vontier Corp
$34.74 +10.3% 1M -19.3% 1Y
Market cap
$4.74B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.07B
Div. yield
0.33%
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.93 +0.7% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.72B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 6, Illinois Tool Works 4, Vontier 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMSAVNTITWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.92B $4.74B $78.72B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.0x 13.9x 24.0x VNT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 9.6x 25.9x VNT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +0.9% — MSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.1% 11.3% — MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 14.5% — MSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 2.3x — MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.19% 0.33% 0.00% MSA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.5% -19.3% +11.3% ITW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.2%/yr +0.7%/yr +4.0%/yr ITW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.5% 31.5% 21.3% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 58/100 49/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

MSAVNTITW

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

AxisMSAVNTITW
Valuation 58 #86 of 203 84 #33 of 203 24 #154 of 203
Growth 86 #27 of 188 25 #141 of 188 35 #123 of 188
Profitability 97 #6 of 183 87 #25 of 183 –
Financial Health 76 #54 of 217 16 #183 of 217 –
Shareholder Returns 74 #40 of 153 78 #35 of 153 87 #21 of 153
Overall 78 58 49
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VNT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMSAVNTITWSPY
1 month -1.8%+10.3%+0.7% -0.2%
3 months -0.3%+5.8%-6.5% +3.9%
6 months +7.2%-1.9%+2.8% +8.2%
Year to date +11.9%-6.6%+12.0% +12.9%
1 year +7.5%-19.3%+11.3% +12.3%
3 years +13.7%+19.2%+23.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +4.4%+6.0%+7.3% +23.3%
5 years +16.9%+3.6%+21.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.2%+0.7%+4.0% +10.9%
10 years +224.9%—+143.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.5%—+9.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMSAVNTITWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.5%31.5%21.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.1%35.3%20.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.811.010.47 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.29-0.610.53 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.9%-51.4%-28.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.7%-19.3%-7.9% -1.2%
52-week high $203.08$43.03$299.60 $779.14
52-week low $152.94$27.80$241.07 $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.

MultipleMSAVNTITW
P/E now vs peer median 22.0xmedian 25.2x 13.9xmedian 25.2x 24.0xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.9x 1.5xmedian 1.9x 4.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 14.0x 9.2xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 21.7x 12.3xmedian 21.7x 26.0xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x 25.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.12median 1.32 1.50median 1.32 —median 1.32

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 monthsMSAVNTITW
Revenue $1.95B $3.07B –
Gross profit $925.88M $1.45B –
Operating income $413.17M $576.60M –
Net income $314.01M $348.00M $3.23B
Free cash flow $354.30M $384.80M –
R&D $68.19M $164.50M –
EPS (diluted) $8.11 $2.49 –
Cash & equivalents $200.06M $265.80M $809.00M
Total debt $599.74M $1.90B –
Shares (diluted) 38.70M 139.80M 287.00M
Enterprise value $6.20B $3.32B $78.72B

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
MetricMSAVNTITW
P/E 22.0x 13.9x 24.0x
P/FCF 19.5x 12.3x 26.0x
P/Operating cash flow 17.0x 10.2x 24.1x
P/S 3.6x 1.5x 4.6x
P/B 4.9x 4.0x 25.0x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 5.4x 30.2x
EV/EBITDA 15.0x 9.2x –
EV/EBIT 17.7x 11.1x –
EV/Revenue 3.8x 2.1x –
EV/FCF 20.7x 16.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.0x 13.8x 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.12 1.50 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSAVNTITW
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 0.9% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% -1.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.2% 0.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 0.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.8% 5.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.5% 0.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) 13.4% -11.9% 6.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 186.8% 5.3% 0.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% -6.6% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 188.5% 9.3% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.3% -7.4% -0.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 96.0% 2.4% -0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% -9.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 72.1% 1.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSAVNTITW
Gross margin 47.6% 47.2% –
EBITDA margin 25.1% 22.7% –
Operating margin 21.2% 18.8% –
Pretax margin 21.1% 14.4% –
Net margin 16.1% 11.3% –
FCF margin 18.2% 12.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 20.9% 15.1% –
Return on equity 22.8% 28.2% 106.9%
Return on assets 12.2% 8.5% –
Return on invested capital 15.9% 14.5% –
Return on capital employed 18.0% 18.8% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.8x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSAVNTITW
Debt / assets 23.1% 47.1% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 1.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 2.3x –
Debt / FCF 1.7x 4.9x –
Liabilities / assets 46.1% 70.2% –
Equity / assets 53.9% 29.8% –
Interest coverage 12.7x – –
Current ratio 3.2x 1.3x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.8x –
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 5.92 3.03 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSAVNTITW
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.3% 2.4%
Net buyback yield 1.8% 8.1% –
Shareholder yield 3.0% 8.5% 2.4%
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.

ConsensusMSAVNTITW
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 9.6xFY2026 25.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.33FY2026 $3.61FY2026 $10.67FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.4% +7.2% +19.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.98BFY2026 $3.11BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +1.0%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.6% +3.0% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSAVNTITW
Held by institutions 91.0% 100.0% 84.9%
Institutions holding 457 461 1,969
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% +4.5% +0.8%
Institutions buying 236 181 846
Institutions selling 147 191 750
Buyers to sellers 1.61 0.95 1.13

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.

MSAVNTITW
MSA 1.00 0.56 0.55
VNT 0.56 1.00 0.51
ITW 0.55 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSA, VNT and ITW?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: MSA Safety (MSA) $6.92B, Vontier (VNT) $4.74B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.72B.

Which stock is cheaper, MSA, VNT and ITW?

Vontier (VNT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Vontier (VNT) 13.9x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vontier (VNT) is cheapest (MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Vontier (VNT) 9.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

MSA Safety (MSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Vontier (VNT) +0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Vontier (VNT) 11.3%). On return on invested capital, MSA Safety (MSA) leads (MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Vontier (VNT) 14.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illinois Tool Works (ITW) returned the most: MSA Safety (MSA) +7.5%, Vontier (VNT) -19.3%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%. Over five years, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) compounded fastest (MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Vontier (VNT) +0.7%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest dividend yield: MSA Safety (MSA) 1.19%, Vontier (VNT) 0.33%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.00%. Illinois Tool Works (ITW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%, Vontier (VNT) 31.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MSA, VNT and ITW?

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 6. 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.