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

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.80.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $81.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

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.