MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Receives “Peer Perform” Rating from Wolfe Research

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)‘s stock had its “peer perform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. KeyCorp increased their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MSM stock opened at $119.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.57. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $130.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 33,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 203.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 4,417 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 161,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,220,000 after buying an additional 3,438 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers by helping them source the products, services and expertise needed to operate and maintain manufacturing facilities, equipment and workplaces.

Its product offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, fasteners, hand and power tools, safety equipment, material-handling products, janitorial supplies, plumbing and electrical items, and other industrial consumables.