MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05), Briefing.com reports. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.4 %

MSM stock traded up $1.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.69. The stock had a trading volume of 396,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,344. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $82.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

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.