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

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, June 14th.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MSM opened at $78.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $105.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.32.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.3% during the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.