Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Stock Price

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.99% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 5.3 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $71.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.35. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $70.13 and a twelve month high of $95.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 24.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 5,563 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 16.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 231,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,892,000 after buying an additional 32,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 26.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 5,346 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.