William Blair Issues Positive Forecast for MSM Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) - Investment analysts at William Blair boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note issued on Tuesday, July 1st. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $0.92 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.91. The consensus estimate for MSC Industrial Direct's current full-year earnings is $3.57 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for MSC Industrial Direct's Q2 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.17 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.94 EPS.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:MSM traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $89.56. 1,124,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 624,916. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $91.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.31 and a 200 day moving average of $79.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSM. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 207.8% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.