JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) Price Target to $73.00

by · The Markets Daily

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $87.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 8.27% from the company’s current price.

MSM has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

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MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 285,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,805. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.47. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MSC Industrial Direct

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,467,000 after purchasing an additional 61,022 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,718,000 after purchasing an additional 84,967 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.9% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 606,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,118,000 after purchasing an additional 11,257 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 18.1% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 288,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,849,000 after purchasing an additional 44,100 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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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.

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