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

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.20.

MSM has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of 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. reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth approximately $12,170,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 135,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 4.3 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $78.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.80. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 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.