MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.62.

MSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $129.72 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $123.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.07. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $78.80 and a 1 year high of $133.65.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.99%.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of 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. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,108,000 after purchasing an additional 422,100 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,939,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $163,607,000 after purchasing an additional 306,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 43.0% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 705,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,122,000 after buying an additional 212,074 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc is a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves industrial and institutional customers with products used in machining, manufacturing, facility maintenance and workplace safety.

Its offerings include cutting tools, abrasives, tooling and workholding equipment, machinery, safety products, material-handling supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, and other industrial consumables. MSC also provides technical support, inventory-management programs, vending and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage procurement and production-related needs.

Founded in 1941, MSC serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada through sales representatives, customer service teams, catalogs, distribution operations and digital commerce platforms.