William Blair Equities Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) – William Blair upped their FY2026 earnings estimates for MSC Industrial Direct in a report released on Tuesday, October 8th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.62 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.50. The consensus estimate for MSC Industrial Direct’s current full-year earnings is $4.84 per share.

MSM has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $81.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.86. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $105.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $413,271.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

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.