MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) reached a new 52-week high on Friday. The stock traded as high as $132.00 and last traded at $130.6450, with a volume of 45629 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $128.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.2%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.71 and a 200 day moving average of $112.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 0.82. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,380,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,108,000 after buying an additional 422,100 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,939,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,607,000 after buying an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and industrial products serving manufacturers and other organizations across North America. The company provides products used in maintenance, repair and operations, including cutting tools, abrasives, tooling components, fasteners, safety equipment, material handling supplies, and janitorial and facility-maintenance products.

MSC serves customers through an omnichannel platform that includes e-commerce, sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, and branch locations.