W.W. Grainger, Inc. to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $10.58 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts (NYSE:GWW)

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Equities researchers at William Blair upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note issued on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the industrial products company will earn $10.58 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $10.19. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $39.30 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of GWW opened at $929.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $979.95 and its 200-day moving average is $876.26. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.1% in the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 9.5% during the first quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the first quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 10,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth about $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

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.