Critical Analysis: MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) vs. Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE)

MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) and Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares MSA Safety Incorporporated and Astec Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MSA Safety Incorporporated	16.13%	25.13%	13.24%
Astec Industries	1.26%	10.26%	5.01%

Risk and Volatility

MSA Safety Incorporporated has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MSA Safety Incorporporated and Astec Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MSA Safety Incorporporated	$1.95 billion	3.54	$278.92 million	$8.04	22.20
Astec Industries	$1.56 billion	0.58	$38.80 million	$0.85	46.20

MSA Safety Incorporporated has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. MSA Safety Incorporporated is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, 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 MSA Safety Incorporporated and Astec Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MSA Safety Incorporporated	0	4	2	0	2.33
Astec Industries	0	2	0	2	3.00

MSA Safety Incorporporated presently has a consensus price target of $211.33, indicating a potential upside of 18.38%. Given MSA Safety Incorporporated’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe MSA Safety Incorporporated is more favorable than Astec Industries.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.5% of MSA Safety Incorporporated shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of MSA Safety Incorporporated shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Astec Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

MSA Safety Incorporporated pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSA Safety Incorporporated pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Astec Industries pays out 61.2% 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.

Summary

MSA Safety Incorporporated beats Astec Industries on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services. This segment provides its products to asphalt producers; highway and heavy equipment contractors; utility contractors; sand and gravel producers; construction, demolition, recycle and crushing contractors; forestry and environmental recycling contractors; mine and quarry operators; port and inland terminal authorities; power stations; and domestic and foreign government agencies. The Materials Solutions segment designs and manufactures crushing equipment, mobile plants, bulk material handling solutions, vibrating equipment, screening equipment, electrical control centers, modular plants and systems, conveying equipment, plant automation products, portable plants, and mineral processing equipment, as well as offers consulting and engineering services. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.