MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $118.1667.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSM. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 101.0% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM opened at $122.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $78.80 and a 1-year high of $127.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 84.06%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.