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

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of MSM stock opened at $82.75 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.81.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.