MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. iA Financial set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $90.43 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $96.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.36. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 0.81. 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 (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,718,000 after acquiring an additional 3,228,170 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,796,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,070,000 after acquiring an additional 187,440 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,605,000 after acquiring an additional 36,626 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,342,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,258,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $105,864,000 after purchasing an additional 12,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.