MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of MSM stock traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 938,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,079. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.96. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $82.09 and a one year high of $105.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, KeyCorp reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 7,500 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $720,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,432,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,475,648. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 137,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total value of $13,449,344.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,708,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,833,652.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,432,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,475,648. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,503 shares of company stock worth $24,841,663. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 154.8% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $121,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 224.5% during the first quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 115.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

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.