DA Davidson Begins Coverage on MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)

Equities researchers at DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) in a research report issued on Tuesday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price suggests a potential upside of 27.03% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MSM. KeyCorp upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of MSM stock opened at $114.15 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $78.80 and a 1 year high of $119.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.08. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,796,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,070,000 after purchasing an additional 187,440 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,607,000 after purchasing an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $162,605,000 after purchasing an additional 36,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $125,240,000 after purchasing an additional 14,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.