W.W. Grainger (GWW) Competitors

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) and W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) are both large-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, community ranking, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, JCI or GWW?

Johnson Controls International has higher revenue and earnings than W.W. Grainger. W.W. Grainger is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Johnson Controls International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Johnson Controls International	$26.79B	1.86	$1.85B	$2.47	29.92
W.W. Grainger	$16.48B	2.88	$1.83B	$36.22	26.68

Is JCI or GWW a better dividend stock?

Johnson Controls International pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. W.W. Grainger pays an annual dividend of $8.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Johnson Controls International pays out 59.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. W.W. Grainger pays out 22.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Johnson Controls International has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and W.W. Grainger has raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years.

Does the media prefer JCI or GWW?

In the previous week, Johnson Controls International had 18 more articles in the media than W.W. Grainger. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Johnson Controls International and 6 mentions for W.W. Grainger. Johnson Controls International's average media sentiment score of 1.71 beat W.W. Grainger's score of 0.54 indicating that W.W. Grainger is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Johnson Controls International	10 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
W.W. Grainger	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, JCI or GWW?

Johnson Controls International has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer JCI or GWW?

Johnson Controls International received 614 more outperform votes than W.W. Grainger when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.23% of users gave Johnson Controls International an outperform vote while only 54.19% of users gave W.W. Grainger an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Johnson Controls International	Outperform Votes 1157 66.23%	Underperform Votes 590 33.77%
W.W. Grainger	Outperform Votes 543 54.19%	Underperform Votes 459 45.81%

Do analysts recommend JCI or GWW?

Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus price target of $63.00, indicating a potential downside of 14.75%. W.W. Grainger has a consensus price target of $938.89, indicating a potential downside of 2.85%. Given Johnson Controls International's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe W.W. Grainger is more favorable than Johnson Controls International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Johnson Controls International	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.21
W.W. Grainger	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of JCI or GWW?

90.1% of Johnson Controls International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Johnson Controls International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is JCI or GWW more profitable?

W.W. Grainger has a net margin of 10.94% compared to W.W. Grainger's net margin of 6.32%. Johnson Controls International's return on equity of 54.31% beat W.W. Grainger's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Johnson Controls International	6.32%	13.21%	5.35%
W.W. Grainger	10.94%	54.31%	22.51%

Summary

Johnson Controls International beats W.W. Grainger on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.