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

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.4286.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct 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 research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.6%

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $119.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.85. 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 12 month low of $78.80 and a 12 month high of $130.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during 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.