W.W. Grainger FY2024 EPS Forecast Boosted by Zacks Research

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report issued on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst S. Deb now expects that the industrial products company will earn $38.94 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $38.79. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $38.92 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q4 2024 earnings at $9.69 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $10.89 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $41.68 EPS.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,172.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,082.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $990.71. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $772.13 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 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.