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

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 Trading Up 0.7 %

MSM opened at $79.61 on Wednesday. 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 $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $82.00 and its 200 day moving average is $81.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.