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

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.80.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSM. Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of MSM stock opened at $77.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $100.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.56.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.15%.

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.