W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,427 to $1,582, while keeping a “sector perform” rating; the new target implied 9.11% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $1,321.85. Oppenheimer was more bullish, raising its target to $1,645 and reiterating “outperform.”
• Grainger beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $12.54 and revenue of $5.18 billion, up 11.3% year over year. Shares fell 2.6% in Thursday’s trading.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $1,427.00 to $1,582.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.11% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,375.00 to $1,645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $1,400.00 price target on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,321.85.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.6%

GWW stock traded down $39.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,449.93. The company had a trading volume of 313,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,989. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,307.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,241.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.95. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,521.41.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.68 by $0.86. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.73% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 46.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $6,303,024,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $621,127,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 363,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $494,244,000 after acquiring an additional 70,451 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 409,142 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $446,210,000 after buying an additional 9,743 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $407,051,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about W.W. Grainger

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Grainger’s adjusted third-quarter EPS of $12.54 topped analyst expectations, while sales rose 11.3% year over year to $5.2 billion. Adjusted operating margin expanded 90 basis points to 16.1%. The company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $47–$48. Grainger Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target to $1,645 from $1,375 and reiterated an “outperform” rating, signaling confidence in further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Stephens lifted its target to $1,380 from $1,355 but maintained an “equal weight” rating, indicating a more cautious view relative to the prevailing share price.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary that the earnings rally raises Grainger’s valuation hurdle points to a potential concern: strong results may already be reflected in the stock, leaving less room for upside if growth or execution disappoints. Grainger valuation commentary

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies for businesses, government agencies and other organizations. Its product offerings include safety equipment, tools, fasteners, electrical and plumbing supplies, material-handling equipment, cleaning and janitorial products, HVAC supplies, and facility-maintenance products.

The company also provides services designed to help customers manage procurement and workplace operations, including product selection support, inventory-management programs, digital purchasing tools, and technical assistance.

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