Analysts Set MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Target Price at $90.50

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.50.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, iA Financial set a $95.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,232,000 after purchasing an additional 92,800 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $273,718,000 after buying an additional 3,228,170 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 36,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,342,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,503 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.5%

MSM opened at $90.05 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $96.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60 and a beta of 0.81.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.08%.

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.