Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for MSM Q2 Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) – Stock analysts at William Blair cut their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $0.68 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate 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.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $80.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.81.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 74.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $12,170,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after buying an additional 113,878 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after buying an additional 98,265 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.