MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.1667.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSM. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,380,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,108,000 after buying an additional 422,100 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,607,000 after buying an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3,393.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 275,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,164,000 after buying an additional 267,548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MSM opened at $123.06 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52 week low of $78.80 and a 52 week high of $127.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.37.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%.MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.06%.

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.