Thursday, November 20, 2014

Seeking Alpha: Short-Term Concerns Stacking Up At MSC Industrial

One of the endless debates between investors is whether it is better to move in and out of positions in response to short-term trends or to identify well-run companies with long-term drivers and hold them through thick and thin. I'm generally in the latter camp, but even I will acknowledge that it is harder to argue that industrial distributor MSC Industrial (NYSE:MSM) is a must-buy today.

The fundamental bull theses for MSC Industrial still seem to be in place. MSC Industrial is a well-run distributor with a strong core in metalworking that is looking to leverage its CCSG business to address new industry verticals (beyond manufacturing) and to enter new adjacent markets (like fasteners). On the other hand, the company is seeing margin pressure as it spends on initiatives to drive future growth and sales growth targets may be pressured by weak pricing and increased competition from the likes of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) and other distributors.

Read the full article here:
Short-Term Concerns Stacking Up At MSC Industrial

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