MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.00.

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock opened at $91.64 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.96. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $88.98 and a 1-year high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

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.