Heartland Advisors added MSA Safety Incorporated as a new portfolio holding in the second quarter of 2026, according to its Heartland Opportunistic Value Equity Strategy investor letter. The firm expects MSA's profit margin to expand in the coming years, driven by its two highest-margin products: portable gas detectors and firefighter self-contained breathing apparatus. MSA's fundamentals have been choppy in recent years, with 2025 sales rising less than 4% while operating profit margin fell 0.8%, as management was slow to raise prices in a volatile inflationary backdrop. Last year, MSA's Fire Service segment sales were hurt by the timing of Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants and the government shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2025. MSA Safety closed at $177.25 per share on September 21, 2026, down 5.56% over the past month but up 3.00% over the past year, with a market capitalization of $6.83 billion and a 52-week range of $151.11 to $208.92. The strategy returned 12.32% in the quarter, underperforming the Russell 3000 Value Index's 14.02% gain.
MSA SafetyHeartland Advisors added MSA Safety as a new holding, expecting margin expansion from its high-margin gas detectors and SCBA products.
