Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 45.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 10.4 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $75.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $75.55 and a 1 year high of $105.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.47.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 261.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.