MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Short Interest Up 23.4% in November

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,430,000 shares, a growth of 23.4% from the October 31st total of 2,780,000 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 663,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $85.61. The stock had a trading volume of 133,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 576,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.86. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $75.05 and a twelve month high of $104.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend 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.