MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Announces $0.85 Quarterly Dividend

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th.

MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.9% per year over the last three years. MSC Industrial Direct has a payout ratio of 87.0% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect MSC Industrial Direct to earn $4.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 84.0%.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM opened at $71.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.34. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $70.13 and a fifty-two week high of $95.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.20.

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.