MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $84.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.59% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MSM. Stephens lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MSM opened at $89.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $90.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.87.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.05. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%. The company had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,650,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,961 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,443,000 after purchasing an additional 448,708 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,781,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,369,000 after purchasing an additional 88,247 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 22.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,762,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,867,000 after purchasing an additional 327,833 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,240,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,343,000 after purchasing an additional 33,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

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.