MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $84.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15 and a beta of 0.85. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.67.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 95,779 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $84.92 per share, for a total transaction of $8,133,552.68. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,219,295 shares in the company, valued at $188,462,531.40. This trade represents a 4.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller acquired 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,665.18. The trade was a 232.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 211,342 shares of company stock worth $17,951,965. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% in the second 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 during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake 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 valued at $162,605,000 after buying an additional 36,626 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,842,000 after buying an additional 15,765 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,867,000 after acquiring an additional 19,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,014,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,490,000 after acquiring an additional 11,912 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.