MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment 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 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.4286.

MSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. KeyCorp upped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% in 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. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 101.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.4%

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $121.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $78.80 and a fifty-two week high of $128.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.44.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 84.06%.

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.

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