MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13, RTT News reports. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $79.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.80. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

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.