William Blair Issues Pessimistic Outlook for MSM Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSMFree Report) – Equities researchers at William Blair lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $0.68 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.71. The consensus estimate for MSC Industrial Direct’s current full-year earnings is $3.63 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for MSC Industrial Direct’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.07 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.57 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MSM. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on MSM

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 3.2 %

MSM opened at $80.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.07 and a 200-day moving average of $81.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSMGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 398.1% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 12,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Earnings History and Estimates for MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)

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