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

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $107.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $92.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.24. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $85.58 and a fifty-two week high of $105.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total transaction of $2,433,194.31. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 15,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,442,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,417,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,248,203.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total transaction of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,683,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,219,171.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,841,663. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,413,000. FCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 20,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.