MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Price Target Cut to $73.00

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $87.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MSM. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,166,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,063. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.36. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after purchasing an additional 84,967 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 606,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,118,000 after purchasing an additional 11,257 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 288,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,849,000 after buying an additional 44,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

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.