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MSC Industrial's (MSM) Board Okays Special Cash Dividend

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MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM - Free Report) announced rewards for its shareholders in the form of a special cash dividend. This announcement is reflective of the company’s shareholder-friendly policies.

It is worth noting here that the company is engaged in the distribution of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and metalworking products as well as providing related services. These products and services are primarily provided to industrial customers in the United States.

Inside the Headlines

As noted, the company’s board of directors approved $3.50 per share of special dividend to be paid to shareholders of record as of Dec 1, 2020. This disbursement will be made on Dec 15, 2020, while the ex-dividend date has been fixed on Nov 30, 2020.

Funds raised through revolving credit facilities will be used to pay $195 million required for the special cash dividend reward. This, in turn, is expected to make the company more leveraged.

Notably, its long-term debts were $497 million, exiting fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended August 2020), down 25.5% from the previous quarter. Cash and cash equivalents decreased 64.6% sequentially to $125.2 million.

Sound Shareholder-Friendly Policies

MSC Industrial is committed to rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payments and share buybacks.

Its regular cash dividend payout increased from $145.7 million in fiscal 2019 (ended August 2019) to $166.5 million in fiscal 2020. Also, the company’s special dividend payouts were $277.6 million in fiscal 2020. Share repurchases by MSC Industrial totaled $3.4 million in fiscal 2020 versus $84.6 million in fiscal 2019.

Zacks Rank, Price Performance and Earnings Estimates

With a $4.7-billion market capitalization, MSC Industrial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past three months, the company’s shares gained 30.8% as compared with the industry’s growth of 31.4%.




 

Also, the company’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings increased 4.1% to $4.56 for fiscal 2021 (ending August 2021) and 2.3% to $4.94 for fiscal 2022 (ending August 2022). Also, the consensus estimate for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 (ending November 2020) grew 7.1% to $1.06.

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. Price and Consensus

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. price-consensus-chart | MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. Quote

Stocks to Consider

Three better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Industrial Products sector are Altra Industrial Motion Corp. , DMC Global Inc. (BOOM - Free Report) and SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. (SITE - Free Report) . While Altra Industrial presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both DMC Global and SiteOne Landscape carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the past 30 days, current-year earnings estimates for these companies have moved north. Further, the earnings surprise for the last reported quarter was 77.55% for Altra Industrial, 180% for DMC Global and 27.06% for SiteOne Landscape.

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