MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Short Interest Up 23.4% in November

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,430,000 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the October 31st total of 2,780,000 shares. Currently, 7.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 663,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $85.61. 133,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 576,966. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.87. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $75.05 and a 52-week high of $104.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.86.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.24%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.