MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Upgraded at Rothschild & Co Redburn

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MSM. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $123.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $127.51. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%.The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $273,718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,796,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,070,000 after purchasing an additional 187,440 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,764,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $162,605,000 after buying an additional 36,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,240,000 after buying an additional 14,484 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.