MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

MSM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MSM opened at $117.63 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $78.80 and a 1-year high of $130.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 101.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.