William Blair Has Bearish Estimate for MSM Q3 Earnings

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) – Analysts at William Blair lowered their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for MSC Industrial Direct in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $1.08 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate 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 announced 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). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, Stephens cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $75.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.77. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $72.79 and a one year high of $104.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,023,000 after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,232,000 after acquiring an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 74.24%.

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.