MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) to Issue $0.85 Quarterly Dividend

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.85 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th.

MSC Industrial Direct has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.9% per year over the last three years. MSC Industrial Direct has a payout ratio of 83.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect MSC Industrial Direct to earn $4.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 84.0%.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $80.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.46. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $99.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.