JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $95.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 0.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MSM. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE MSM opened at $94.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. MSC Industrial Direct has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $95.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Philip Peller bought 6,666 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $859,665.18. This represents a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 22,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $84.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,943,035.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,328,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,803,192.32. This trade represents a 0.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 257.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 130.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 52.2% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.