MSC Industrial Direct - MSM Stock Forecast, Price & News

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Its MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies. The company offers approximately 1.9 million stock-keeping units through its catalogs and brochures; e-commerce channels, including its Website, mscdirect.com; inventory management solutions; and call-centers and branches. It operates through a distribution network of 28 branch offices, 11 customer fulfilment centers, and seven regional inventory centers. The company serves individual machine shops, Fortune 1000 manufacturing companies, and government agencies, as well as manufacturers of various sizes. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, July 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 30th. StockNews.com raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 17th. Finally, William Blair downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.25.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE:MSM remained flat at $84.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 337,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,014. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.54. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.37. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $71.69 and a twelve month high of $87.99.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 25.72% and a net margin of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $958.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $962.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 12th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 11th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 55.66%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.25 per share, with a total value of $14,450,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 272,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,684,512.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven N. Baruch sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.27, for a total transaction of $617,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,039,975.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.25 per share, with a total value of $14,450,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 272,450 shares in the company, valued at $19,684,512.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,557,217. Company insiders own 28.28% of the company's stock.