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MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Financial News Live · Sep 19, 2022 15:31

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a growth of 16.4% from the August 15th total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 354,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Elizabeth Bledsoe sold 4,701 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Friday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.53, for a total transaction of $350,365.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,346.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.25 per share, with a total value of $14,450,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 272,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,684,512.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Elizabeth Bledsoe sold 4,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.53, for a total value of $350,365.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,346.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,059 shares of company stock worth $3,052,688. 28.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSM. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 103,024 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,779,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 64.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 13,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $1,102,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 86.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 1,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 30th. Stephens cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, July 4th. Finally, William Blair downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.25.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $76.23. 3,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,597. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $80.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.86. MSC Industrial Direct has a fifty-two week low of $71.69 and a fifty-two week high of $87.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 25.72%. The company had revenue of $958.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 12th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 11th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.66%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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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, and the United Kingdom. Its 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.