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

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.2857.

MSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 27th. iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $117.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $104.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.49 and a 200-day moving average of $90.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52 week low of $77.78 and a 52 week high of $108.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.73.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.42%.MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $273,718,000 after acquiring an additional 3,228,170 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,380,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,108,000 after acquiring an additional 422,100 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 867.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 360,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,261,000 after acquiring an additional 323,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,607,000 after acquiring an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.