Loop Capital Lowers W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $950.00

Key Points

• Loop Capital has lowered its price target for W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00, maintaining a "hold" rating on the stock, which indicates a potential upside of 2.06% from its previous close.
• Analyst ratings for W.W. Grainger show an average price target of $1,080.38, with two sell ratings, eight holds, two buys, and one strong buy.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $9.97, missing estimates, while revenue has increased by 5.6% year-over-year to $4.55 billion.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Loop Capital from $1,000.00 to $950.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Loop Capital's target price suggests a potential upside of 2.06% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2%

GWW traded down $1.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $930.80. 221,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,366. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,051.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,033.62. The firm has a market cap of $44.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 316.7% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.