Zacks Research Forecasts Reduced Earnings for W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research analyst S. Deb now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $9.91 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $9.95. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger's current full-year earnings is $40.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger's Q4 2026 earnings at $10.76 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $44.15 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW traded down $10.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1,081.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 150,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,199. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,008.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,065.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $51.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.