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 large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,430,000 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the October 31st total of 2,780,000 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 663,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $0.87 on Monday, hitting $85.01. 489,315 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 578,569. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.86. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after purchasing an additional 113,878 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,023,000 after purchasing an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,718,000 after buying an additional 84,967 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

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.