MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $91.46 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12-month low of $88.14 and a 12-month high of $105.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.34 and a 200 day moving average of $98.06.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The company had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 18,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,830,171.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,846,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,227,616.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,003 shares of company stock worth $22,679,413. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 168.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.