Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for MSM Q4 Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) – Equities research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q4 2026 EPS estimates for MSC Industrial Direct in a research note issued on Monday, July 28th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $1.10 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.11. The consensus estimate for MSC Industrial Direct’s current full-year earnings is $3.57 per share.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital increased their target price on 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 increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $86.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.88. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised 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 valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 22,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,444. This represents a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.05%.

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.