William Blair Issues Pessimistic Outlook for MSM Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) - William Blair cut their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note issued on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $0.91 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.92. 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 $0.89 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.45 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MSM. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens upped their price objective 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, July 2nd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.28. 949,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,783. The business's 50 day moving average is $81.31 and its 200-day moving average is $79.60. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $90.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.05%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.