MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded 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 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.8%

MSM stock opened at $123.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $127.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $113.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 84.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $455,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth about $816,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.