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MSC Industrial Direct

  • Time to Buy the Latest Tech Company to Warn?

    By Lee Samaha - May 22, 2013 | Tickers: ADBE, ADSK, FAST, MSM

    There have been two major themes to the Q1 reporting season. The first is that tech spending has been weak across the board and the second is that –outside of pockets like aerospace and automotive- the industrial sector has been weak too. Cue Autodesk’s(NASDAQ: ADSK) latest set of results. It’s a software company and its end markets are industrial. The rest is history. Its results were disappointing more »

  • Intentional Investing: Tough Love on Housing Recovery (Part 4)

    By Penny Czarra - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: FAST, MSM, GWW

    Looking for some “housing recovery” investment prospects? Does reasonable growth + reasonable risk + reasonable price have a place in your portfolio?

    Well, that’s what I’m looking for right now. And I think I may have found three contenders worthy of further study.

    Surprise, surprise! There are businesses out there that generate impressive and consistent returns on invested capital. Industrial Traders/Distributors Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST), MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSMmore »)

  • Why This Industrial Distributor Is Poised To Jump

    By Lalit Kumar - April 22, 2013 | Tickers: AXE, FAST, MSM, GWW, WCC

    The stock market has turned volatile after hitting new highs earlier this month. It is prudent to exercise caution and be stock specific while investing in these uncertain times. I would ideally prefer to invest in a stock trading at relatively low valuations, with good earnings visibility and some potential catalysts to take it higher. I scanned through a lot of companies trading at a discount to their average historical more »

  • Why Are These Industrial Stocks so Weak?

    By Lee Samaha - April 13, 2013 | Tickers: AA, ATI, FAST, MSM

    Just when you thought it was safe to go back into industrial stocks, Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) and MSC Industrial Direct(NYSE: MSM) delivered results that raised more questions than answers. Both companies were downbeat and went to lengths to describe how their businesses weren’t performing in line with the headline manufacturing ISM numbers. So what is going on, and what is the read across from these earnings?

    ISM Not more »

  • Why You Should Stop Worrying About the Economy

    By Lee Samaha - April 12, 2013 | Tickers: GE, MSM, RHI

    The markets have been concerned over the state of the economy recently. The double whammy of a set of weaker Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports and disappointing payrolls numbers have had the the bears coming out. Although the direction of the market is not really my concern – I’m market neutral -- the direction of the economy is of great interest. There is more reason to be bullish than bearish more »

  • The Key Earnings for the Week (April 8)

    By Lee Samaha - April 8, 2013 | Tickers: AA, FAST, MSM, PIR, RAD

    Is it just me or does it seem that earnings season should no longer be called a season, but rather an ongoing activity? Alcoa’s (NYSE: AA) results usually mark the beginning of the season, and as they come up next week, I guess it’s time to declare a new season open.

    It’s been a good quarter for equities, but some recent weakness in the ISM data is more »

  • Why You Should Stop Worrying About the Economy

    By Lee Samaha - April 8, 2013 | Tickers: GE, MSM, RHI

    The markets have been concerned over the state of the economy recently. The double whammy of a set of weaker ISM reports and disappointing payrolls numbers have had the the bears coming out. Although the direction of the market is not really my concern –I’m market neutral- but the direction of the economy is of great interest. In summary I think there is more reason to be bullish than more »

  • The Key Earnings For The Week (April 8)

    By Lee Samaha - April 3, 2013 | Tickers: AA, FAST, MSM, PIR, RAD

    Is it just me or does it seems that earnings season should no longer be called a season but rather an ongoing activity? Alcoa’s (NYSE: AA) results usually mark the beginning of the season and, as they come up next week, I guess it’s time to declare a new season open.

    It’s been a good quarter for equities but some recent weakness in the ISM data is more »

  • Good Growth but This Company's Evaluation Looks Rich

    By Lee Samaha - January 23, 2013 | Tickers: FAST, HD, MSM, GWW

    Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) investors would have looked at the upcoming results with a sense of trepidation following MSC Industrial’s (NYSE: MSM) recent report. The good news is that they weren’t as bad as some had feared and the stock rallied. However, the underlying trends aren’t so positive for the industrial sector in general and much of the growth was related to expanding sales via its vending machines more »

  • Is There a Buying Opportunity in This Long Term Growth Story?

    By Lee Samaha - January 17, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, FAST, MSM, GWW

    It’s early in earnings season, but I think that one trend is already appearing in the industrial sector. Acuity Brands said earlier that its lighting customers had adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach to purchasing in the previous quarter (you can read about here). Its argument was that a combination of election and ‘fiscal cliff’ considerations caused customers to delay purchasing. It was a similar story with MSC Industrial more »

  • Can This Industrial Company Deliver 50% Again This Year?

    By Lee Samaha - January 16, 2013 | Tickers: AA, BLL, MSM, PPG, SHW

    Earnings season is just getting started but we are already seeing some patterns emerging in the industrial sector. Paint and coatings company PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) gave results that defied the recent gloom over an industrial slowdown in the last quarter expressed by others. The stock has had a stellar run and any technical analysts out there would no doubt be in love with it right now. However, it’s more »

  • The Key Earnings for the Week (Jan 7)

    By Lee Samaha - January 3, 2013 | Tickers: AYI, AA, MSM, SVU, WFC

    By now investors will be getting well into 2013 and looking forward to planning out the year. It’s a quiet week but we can always use these periods as a chance to discover and research new stocks. In addition it is the week of the JPMorgan Healthcare conference and anyone who is anyone in Biotech and Pharma will be there. It’s a great chance to find out what more »

  • This Fastener Supplier is Still Pricey

    By Anh HOANG - December 12, 2012 | Tickers: FAST, MSM, GWW

    Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) has seen some mixed signals of insider transactions since November. I’ve seen several articles mentioning that Daniel Florness, the company’s CFO, just bought 2,645 shares at an average price of $41.50 per share, with the total transaction value of nearly $110,000. However, dated in November, Robert Kierlin, the Independent Chairman, sold 200,000 shares, with the total transaction value of more more »

  • Fastenal’s CFO Bought About $100,000 in Stock

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 9, 2012 | Tickers: AXE, FAST, MSM, GWW, WCC

    Daniel Florness, the CFO of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST), purchased just over 2,600 shares of the company’s stock on Dec. 5 at a average price of $41.50, according to a filing with the SEC. Florness now owns about 45,000 shares of the stock between his direct holdings and his 401k plan. Fastenal is a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies, including bolts, nuts, and more »

  • Bolt From the Blue Team!

    By MihirMehta - October 17, 2012 | Tickers: FAST, HD, LOW, MSM

    As you enter one of the stores of the company I am going to analyze, you are faced with rows and rows of products that you can buy off the shelves. Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) prides itself from among other things, on its chain of 2600+ stores and more than 10,000 people operating them. Each of their stores is tailored according to the needs of the local customers, who visit more »

  • Great Company, Great Prospects But Here is Why I'm Not Buying

    By Lee Samaha - October 16, 2012 | Tickers: FAST, HD, JPM, MSM, GWW

    There are fewer companies that report more details on trading performance than Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) and I think its results are a key barometer for how the US construction markets are trending. According to the company, sales typically comprise of 75-80% from residential construction customers and 20-25% from industrial so it is a good gauge of house building prospects.

    In summary, there were signs of a slowdown in the Spring more »

  • We Still Need Tools

    By William Bias - August 22, 2012 | Tickers: FAST, MSM, GWW

    In today’s world we read and hear so much about high tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft that we forget about the companies that sell items such as wrenches, nuts and bolts. People as well as governments and businesses need these items to keep them going. Looking at the fundamentals (see table below) of companies like W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW), MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM), and Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) tells me one thing is certain; we still need tools and supplies to keep our office buildings and factories in good repair.

  • Long Term Story And Abating Concerns Make Grainger A Good Buy

    By Ashish Sharma - July 19, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, FAST, MSM, GWW

    W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW) recently reported mixed results, with EPS beating consensus expectations by 1 cent and revenues slightly lower than expectations. The more encouraging fact however was that the company reported that July sales were trending in-line with June despite the July 4th holiday (holidays usually affect the sales of industrial distributors negatively, unlike consumer retailers). This means there was some acceleration in underlying demand in the more »

  • What Price Growth?

    By Lee Samaha - July 16, 2012 | Tickers: FAST, HD, MSM, GWW

    Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) cheered the market with a decent set of numbers which were in line with analyst estimates. The company represents a decent litmus test of the industrial and construction sectors in the US alongside something like Grainger (NYSE: GWW) or MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM). In this article I want to provide a brief overview of current conditions and put them in the context of Fastenal’s long term more »

  • Amazon Expands Into Industrial Supplies

    By Tony Daltorio - May 24, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, FAST, MSM, GWW

    In the internet space, one of the most fearsome competitors has to be Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN). Just ask book publishing companies. Even Apple has to be aware of the company. But now Amazon has its sights set on another sector which it hopes to dominate...the $160 billion market for industrial supplies in the United States. 

    Some of the leading companies in this sector include MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSMmore »)

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