MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

MSM has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.62.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $132.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.68. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $78.80 and a 52-week high of $132.55.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 101.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 60.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter valued at approximately $143,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and industrial products serving manufacturers and other organizations across North America. The company provides products used in maintenance, repair and operations, including cutting tools, abrasives, tooling components, fasteners, safety equipment, material handling supplies, and janitorial and facility-maintenance products.

MSC serves customers through an omnichannel platform that includes e-commerce, sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, and branch locations.