Wall Street Zen Upgrades MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) to Buy

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MSM. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:MSM opened at $84.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15 and a beta of 0.85. MSC Industrial Direct has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $965.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller acquired 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,665.18. The trade was a 232.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 22,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $84.96 per share, with a total value of $1,943,035.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,328,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,803,192.32. This represents a 0.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 211,342 shares of company stock worth $17,951,965. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 56,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,805,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.