MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13, RTT News reports. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $79.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1 year low of $72.79 and a 1 year high of $104.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.24%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.20.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.