MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.1667.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $122.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $113.16 and a 200 day moving average of $98.58. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $127.51. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 84.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 30.4% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 24,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 10.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.