MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.22.

Several analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. DA Davidson set a $155.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $130.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, October 23rd.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:MSM opened at $113.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $133.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $122.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.00.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $115.94 per share, with a total value of $28,985,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,578,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,915,580.48. This trade represents a 10.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Reuben E. Slone purchased 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $115.77 per share, with a total value of $50,128.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,128.41. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.

Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.

Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.