MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. MSC Industrial Direct's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM stock traded up $2.89 on Wednesday, reaching $82.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,042,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.20.

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.