DA Davidson Begins Coverage on MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM)

DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) in a report released on Tuesday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.03% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MSM. KeyCorp upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $114.15 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $119.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.48 and its 200 day moving average is $94.08. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.73.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.42%.The company had revenue of $917.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSC Industrial Direct

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 101.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.