MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $92.62 and traded as high as $118.52. MSC Industrial Direct shares last traded at $117.0930, with a volume of 623,311 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSM. iA Financial set a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.71.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 0.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.02). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.42%.The firm had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $59,380,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,108,000 after buying an additional 422,100 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 867.0% in the third quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 360,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,261,000 after buying an additional 323,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,773,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,607,000 after buying an additional 306,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.