William Blair Issues Pessimistic Estimate for MSM Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) – Research analysts at William Blair dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $1.08 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.21. 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 Q4 2025 earnings at $1.03 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.55 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.58 EPS.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 4.3 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $78.47 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.76. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. 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 4.33%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 16,828 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after buying an additional 6,172 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 398.1% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 12,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.