William Blair Has Negative Forecast for MSM FY2026 Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) – William Blair reduced their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $4.04 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.74. The consensus estimate for MSC Industrial Direct’s current full-year earnings is $3.63 per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.7 %

MSM stock opened at $79.61 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was 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 large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $216,772,000 after buying an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.