MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MSM. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $117.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $130.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 11,308.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,131,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $729,386,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078,125 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,718,000 after buying an additional 3,228,170 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,796,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,070,000 after buying an additional 187,440 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,605,000 after buying an additional 36,626 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.