MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.20.

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 2.3 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $85.45 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $104.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.49%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.