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

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.40.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 494.4% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 6,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 5,601 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at approximately $816,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter worth approximately $229,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 11,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 5,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.0%

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $82.95 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $90.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

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.