MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of MSM stock traded down $2.48 on Friday, reaching $97.04. The company had a trading volume of 938,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,079. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.62 and a 200-day moving average of $98.30. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12 month low of $82.09 and a 12 month high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, KeyCorp cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,442,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,417,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,248,203.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,683,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,219,171.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,442,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,417,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,248,203.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,841,663 in the last ninety days. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth approximately $239,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Creative Planning acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.