MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 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 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $82.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.81. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.20.

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.