MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.20.

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSM. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.98. The stock had a trading volume of 671,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $82.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.24%.

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.