MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $133.95 and last traded at $132.1140, with a volume of 836,549 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.53.
Key Headlines Impacting MSC Industrial Direct
Here are the key news stories impacting MSC Industrial Direct this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades support the stock. Stephens upgraded MSC Industrial from “equal weight” to “overweight” and raised its price target from $130 to $135. KeyCorp also maintained an “overweight” rating while lowering its target from $145 to $140. Both firms’ targets imply approximately 20% upside based on the prices cited in the reports. Stephens analyst upgrade KeyCorp analyst rating
- Positive Sentiment: Revenue and adjusted earnings exceeded expectations. Fiscal fourth-quarter sales rose 10.3% year over year to $1.079 billion, surpassing the $1.07 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.45, above analyst estimates ranging from $1.39 to $1.41 and up from $1.09 a year earlier. MSC Industrial fiscal 2026 results
- Neutral Sentiment: Near-term sales growth remains constructive. MSC Industrial expects sales growth in the first quarter, suggesting continued demand for its industrial products, but investors are likely to focus on whether growth can translate into stronger profitability.
- Negative Sentiment: Profitability concerns limited the earnings reaction. Reported GAAP EPS fell to $0.85 from $1.01 in the prior-year quarter, while operating margin was 6.7%, or 10.9% on an adjusted basis. Management’s warning about “inflationary headwinds” raised concerns about costs and margin pressure despite record sales. MSC Industrial earnings and inflation headwinds
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson set a $155.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens raised MSC Industrial Direct from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.44.
View Our Latest Analysis on MSM
MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.53. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 0.82.
MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.06%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSM. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter worth $552,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 10.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About MSC Industrial Direct
MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.
Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.
Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.
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