GWW vs. FAST, URI, WSO, WCC, AIT, BECN, AL, GATX, MSM, and RUSHA
Should you be buying W.W. Grainger stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of W.W. Grainger include Fastenal (FAST), United Rentals (URI), Watsco (WSO), WESCO International (WCC), Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT), Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN), Air Lease (AL), GATX (GATX), MSC Industrial Direct (MSM), and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA). These companies are all part of the "trading companies & distributors" industry.
W.W. Grainger vs. Its Competitors
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) are both large-cap trading companies & distributors companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.
In the previous week, W.W. Grainger had 23 more articles in the media than Fastenal. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for W.W. Grainger and 6 mentions for Fastenal. W.W. Grainger's average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat Fastenal's score of 0.65 indicating that W.W. Grainger is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Fastenal has a net margin of 15.13% compared to W.W. Grainger's net margin of 11.08%. W.W. Grainger's return on equity of 51.28% beat Fastenal's return on equity.
W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fastenal has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus target price of $1,123.13, suggesting a potential upside of 7.88%. Fastenal has a consensus target price of $40.40, suggesting a potential downside of 5.32%. Given W.W. Grainger's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe W.W. Grainger is more favorable than Fastenal.
80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.1% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
W.W. Grainger pays an annual dividend of $9.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. W.W. Grainger pays out 23.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fastenal pays out 88.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. W.W. Grainger has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years and Fastenal has increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years.
W.W. Grainger has higher revenue and earnings than Fastenal. W.W. Grainger is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fastenal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
W.W. Grainger beats Fastenal on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding GWW and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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This page (NYSE:GWW) was last updated on 7/2/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff