What is KeyCorp's Estimate for W.W. Grainger Q2 Earnings?

Key Points

• KeyCorp raised its Q2 2026 EPS estimate for W.W. Grainger to $11.15 per share from $10.87, reflecting a more optimistic outlook for the industrial products distributor.
• Grainger’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $11.65 and revenue of $4.74 billion, both beating analyst expectations and rising 10.1% year over year.
• The company also boosted its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, signaling confidence in cash generation and shareholder returns.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) - KeyCorp lifted their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for W.W. Grainger in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp analyst K. Newman now anticipates that the industrial products company will earn $11.15 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $10.87. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger's current full-year earnings is $45.24 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger's Q3 2026 earnings at $11.81 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $10.94 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $12.94 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $13.79 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $12.15 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $51.59 EPS.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on GWW. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,252.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm's 50-day moving average is $1,130.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,065.91. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,286.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,037,728,000 after purchasing an additional 23,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,036,584,000 after purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc NYSE: GWW is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger's product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.

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