Analysts Set MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Target Price at $93.00

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 8th. Loop Capital lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 17th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, June 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 42,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after buying an additional 12,088 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,668,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,316,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,476,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,088,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $79.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $105.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.10.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 59.61%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's 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.