JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Price Target to $73.00

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $87.00 to $73.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MSM. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock opened at $78.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.23. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its 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). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.47%.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.