W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• W.W. Grainger, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with recommendations varying from two sell, seven hold, three buy, and one strong buy.
• Despite a revenue increase of 5.6% year-over-year, the company reported an EPS of $9.97 for the last quarter, falling short of the expected $10.07.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.26, equating to an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 22.94%.

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,073.8750.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $963.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $935.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.82. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $981.24 and a 200-day moving average of $1,016.28.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.76 EPS. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.94%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the third quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.8% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 11,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,518,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 42.4% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 89,665 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,248,000 after buying an additional 26,699 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,582,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.

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