MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $121.64 and last traded at $118.8820, with a volume of 1080969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.9%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96 and a beta of 0.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $917.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $226,000. Argent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,756,000. Amundi raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 53,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.