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MSC Industrial Direct (MSM) Competitors

MSC Industrial Direct logo
$130.35 +0.03 (+0.02%)
Closing price 10/7/2026 03:58 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$130.42 +0.06 (+0.05%)
As of 10/7/2026 07:58 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

MSM vs. FAST, LECO, AIT, DCI, and DOV

Should you buy MSC Industrial Direct stock or one of its competitors? MSC Industrial Direct's main competitors and comparable companies include Fastenal (FAST), Lincoln Electric (LECO), Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT), Donaldson (DCI), and Dover (DOV). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size. These companies are all part of the "industrials" sector.

How does MSC Industrial Direct compare to Fastenal?

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) and MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Fastenal has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Fastenal had 9 more articles in the media than MSC Industrial Direct. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Fastenal and 5 mentions for MSC Industrial Direct. MSC Industrial Direct's average media sentiment score of 0.57 beat Fastenal's score of 0.52 indicating that MSC Industrial Direct is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Fastenal
7 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
6 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
MSC Industrial Direct
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

81.4% of Fastenal shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Fastenal shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.0% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Fastenal currently has a consensus price target of $49.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.66%. MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus price target of $123.43, suggesting a potential downside of 5.31%. Given Fastenal's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fastenal is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Fastenal
2 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.31
MSC Industrial Direct
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50

Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. MSC Industrial Direct pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Fastenal pays out 88.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. MSC Industrial Direct pays out 84.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Fastenal has increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years and MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. MSC Industrial Direct is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Fastenal has higher revenue and earnings than MSC Industrial Direct. MSC Industrial Direct is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fastenal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Fastenal$8.20B6.97$1.26B$1.1842.23
MSC Industrial Direct$3.77B1.93$199.33M$4.1431.49

Fastenal has a net margin of 15.45% compared to MSC Industrial Direct's net margin of 5.91%. Fastenal's return on equity of 34.03% beat MSC Industrial Direct's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Fastenal15.45% 34.03% 26.16%
MSC Industrial Direct 5.91%17.34%9.79%

Summary

Fastenal beats MSC Industrial Direct on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does MSC Industrial Direct compare to Lincoln Electric?

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) and Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

MSC Industrial Direct pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Lincoln Electric pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. MSC Industrial Direct pays out 84.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lincoln Electric pays out 31.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Lincoln Electric has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years.

Lincoln Electric has higher revenue and earnings than MSC Industrial Direct. Lincoln Electric is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSC Industrial Direct, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
MSC Industrial Direct$3.77B1.93$199.33M$4.1431.49
Lincoln Electric$4.23B3.39$520.53M$10.0126.29

MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus price target of $123.43, indicating a potential downside of 5.31%. Lincoln Electric has a consensus price target of $307.22, indicating a potential upside of 16.74%. Given Lincoln Electric's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lincoln Electric is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
MSC Industrial Direct
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50
Lincoln Electric
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.70

79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of Lincoln Electric shares are held by institutional investors. 19.0% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Lincoln Electric shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Lincoln Electric has a net margin of 12.35% compared to MSC Industrial Direct's net margin of 5.91%. Lincoln Electric's return on equity of 39.23% beat MSC Industrial Direct's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
MSC Industrial Direct5.91% 17.34% 9.79%
Lincoln Electric 12.35%39.23%15.25%

MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Lincoln Electric has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Lincoln Electric had 10 more articles in the media than MSC Industrial Direct. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Lincoln Electric and 5 mentions for MSC Industrial Direct. Lincoln Electric's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat MSC Industrial Direct's score of 0.57 indicating that Lincoln Electric is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
MSC Industrial Direct
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Lincoln Electric
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

Lincoln Electric beats MSC Industrial Direct on 17 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does MSC Industrial Direct compare to Applied Industrial Technologies?

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Applied Industrial Technologies has a net margin of 8.35% compared to MSC Industrial Direct's net margin of 5.91%. Applied Industrial Technologies' return on equity of 22.17% beat MSC Industrial Direct's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
MSC Industrial Direct5.91% 17.34% 9.79%
Applied Industrial Technologies 8.35%22.17%13.43%

MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus target price of $123.43, suggesting a potential downside of 5.31%. Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus target price of $400.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.39%. Given Applied Industrial Technologies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Industrial Technologies is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
MSC Industrial Direct
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50
Applied Industrial Technologies
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
3.00

In the previous week, MSC Industrial Direct and MSC Industrial Direct both had 5 articles in the media. MSC Industrial Direct's average media sentiment score of 0.57 beat Applied Industrial Technologies' score of 0.14 indicating that MSC Industrial Direct is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
MSC Industrial Direct
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Applied Industrial Technologies
0 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
3 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Applied Industrial Technologies has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the broader market.

79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 19.0% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Applied Industrial Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than MSC Industrial Direct. Applied Industrial Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSC Industrial Direct, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
MSC Industrial Direct$3.77B1.93$199.33M$4.1431.49
Applied Industrial Technologies$4.97B2.48$414.52M$10.9630.57

MSC Industrial Direct pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Applied Industrial Technologies pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. MSC Industrial Direct pays out 84.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Applied Industrial Technologies pays out 18.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Applied Industrial Technologies has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years.

Summary

Applied Industrial Technologies beats MSC Industrial Direct on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does MSC Industrial Direct compare to Donaldson?

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) and Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

In the previous week, MSC Industrial Direct had 3 more articles in the media than Donaldson. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for MSC Industrial Direct and 2 mentions for Donaldson. Donaldson's average media sentiment score of 1.65 beat MSC Industrial Direct's score of 0.57 indicating that Donaldson is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
MSC Industrial Direct
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Donaldson
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Very Positive

Donaldson has a net margin of 11.68% compared to MSC Industrial Direct's net margin of 5.91%. Donaldson's return on equity of 28.68% beat MSC Industrial Direct's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
MSC Industrial Direct5.91% 17.34% 9.79%
Donaldson 11.68%28.68%14.27%

MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Donaldson has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the broader market.

MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus price target of $123.43, suggesting a potential downside of 5.31%. Donaldson has a consensus price target of $101.67, suggesting a potential upside of 16.68%. Given Donaldson's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Donaldson is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
MSC Industrial Direct
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50
Donaldson
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.60

79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Donaldson shares are held by institutional investors. 19.0% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Donaldson shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Donaldson has higher revenue and earnings than MSC Industrial Direct. Donaldson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSC Industrial Direct, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
MSC Industrial Direct$3.77B1.93$199.33M$4.1431.49
Donaldson$3.89B2.60$453.80M$3.8522.63

MSC Industrial Direct pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Donaldson pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSC Industrial Direct pays out 84.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Donaldson pays out 33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Donaldson has increased its dividend for 38 consecutive years.

Summary

Donaldson beats MSC Industrial Direct on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does MSC Industrial Direct compare to Dover?

Dover (NYSE:DOV) and MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership and dividends.

Dover has higher revenue and earnings than MSC Industrial Direct. Dover is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSC Industrial Direct, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Dover$8.09B3.13$1.09B$8.3022.66
MSC Industrial Direct$3.77B1.93$199.33M$4.1431.49

Dover has a net margin of 13.48% compared to MSC Industrial Direct's net margin of 5.91%. Dover's return on equity of 18.32% beat MSC Industrial Direct's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Dover13.48% 18.32% 10.26%
MSC Industrial Direct 5.91%17.34%9.79%

Dover pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. MSC Industrial Direct pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Dover pays out 25.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MSC Industrial Direct pays out 84.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Dover has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years and MSC Industrial Direct has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Dover presently has a consensus price target of $238.21, suggesting a potential upside of 26.68%. MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus price target of $123.43, suggesting a potential downside of 5.31%. Given Dover's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Dover is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Dover
0 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
10 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67
MSC Industrial Direct
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50

84.5% of Dover shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Dover shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 19.0% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dover has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its share price is 13% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Dover had 2 more articles in the media than MSC Industrial Direct. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Dover and 5 mentions for MSC Industrial Direct. Dover's average media sentiment score of 0.88 beat MSC Industrial Direct's score of 0.57 indicating that Dover is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Dover
3 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
MSC Industrial Direct
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

Dover beats MSC Industrial Direct on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding MSM and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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MSM vs. The Competition

MetricMSC Industrial DirectTrading Companies & Distributors IndustryIndustrials SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$7.28B$9.41B$10.24B$23.02B
Dividend Yield2.67%3.39%96.63%3.71%
P/E Ratio31.4942.5226.4927.87
Price / Sales1.9322.88269.8719.88
Price / Cash24.0450.2624.2038.14
Price / Book5.213.814.784.67
Net Income$199.33M$377.81M$614.99M$1.07B
7 Day Performance1.43%-0.45%-0.68%0.16%
1 Month Performance8.37%-0.58%-3.59%-5.38%
1 Year Performance45.61%8.15%1.34%4.78%

MSC Industrial Direct Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
MSM
MSC Industrial Direct
2.7539 of 5 stars
$130.35
+0.0%
$123.43
-5.3%
+44.6%$7.28B$3.77B31.497,284
FAST
Fastenal
3.2881 of 5 stars
$50.49
+0.1%
$49.50
-2.0%
+5.0%$57.87B$8.20B42.7924,489
LECO
Lincoln Electric
4.7916 of 5 stars
$271.18
-0.2%
$307.22
+13.3%
+11.3%$14.81B$4.23B27.0912,000
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies
4.6911 of 5 stars
$337.40
+1.2%
$400.00
+18.6%
+32.3%$12.25B$4.97B30.786,900
DCI
Donaldson
4.4233 of 5 stars
$87.49
+0.1%
$101.00
+15.4%
+5.9%$10.13B$3.89B22.7215,000

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This page (NYSE:MSM) was last updated on 10/8/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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