MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.67.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $84.32 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 22,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $84.96 per share, with a total value of $1,943,035.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at $197,803,192.32. The trade was a 0.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller acquired 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,232,000 after acquiring an additional 92,800 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,605,000 after purchasing an additional 36,626 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,842,000 after purchasing an additional 15,765 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,867,000 after purchasing an additional 19,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,014,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,490,000 after buying an additional 11,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.