MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report) and ClearSign Technologies (NASDAQ:CLIR – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.
Volatility and Risk
MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ClearSign Technologies has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares MSC Industrial Direct and ClearSign Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| MSC Industrial Direct | $3.77 billion | 1.32 | $199.33 million | $3.56 | 24.99 |
| ClearSign Technologies | $2.15 million | 18.04 | -$5.30 million | ($0.12) | -6.08 |
MSC Industrial Direct has higher revenue and earnings than ClearSign Technologies. ClearSign Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSC Industrial Direct, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares MSC Industrial Direct and ClearSign Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| MSC Industrial Direct | 5.29% | 15.21% | 8.50% |
| ClearSign Technologies | -203.65% | -47.61% | -39.34% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for MSC Industrial Direct and ClearSign Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| MSC Industrial Direct | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2.43 |
| ClearSign Technologies | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus price target of $91.50, suggesting a potential upside of 2.86%. ClearSign Technologies has a consensus price target of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 174.35%. Given ClearSign Technologies’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ClearSign Technologies is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.0% of ClearSign Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 18.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of ClearSign Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
MSC Industrial Direct beats ClearSign Technologies on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. It offers stock-keeping units through its catalogs and brochures; e-commerce channels, including its website, mscdirect.com; inventory management solutions; and customer care centers, customer fulfillment centers, regional inventory centers, and warehouses. The company serves individual machine shops, manufacturing companies, and government agencies. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.
About ClearSign Technologies
ClearSign Technologies Corporation designs and develops products and technologies to enhance emission and operational performance, energy efficiency, emission reduction, safety, and overall cost-effectiveness of industrial and commercial systems in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Hong Kong. The company's technologies include ClearSign core burner technology consists of an industrial burner body and a downstream porous ceramic or metal flame stabilizing structure; ClearSign core process burner technology that provides a direct burner replacement for traditional refinery process heaters; ClearSign core boiler burner technology; ClearSign core flaring burners that can be used individually, or in combination, to provide a flare product with extremely low nitrogen oxide emissions; and ClearSign eye flame sensor, an electrical flame sensor for industrial applications. It serves energy, institutional, commercial and industrial boiler, chemical, and petrochemical industries. The company was formerly known as ClearSign Combustion Corporation and changed its name ClearSign Technologies Corporation in November 2019. ClearSign Technologies Corporation was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Receive News & Ratings for MSC Industrial Direct Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MSC Industrial Direct and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
