Zacks Research Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 19th. Zacks Research analyst S. Deb now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $9.20 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $9.19. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $39.26 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q1 2025 earnings at $10.18 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $10.80 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $10.60 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $10.51 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $42.09 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $11.03 EPS.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GWW. Stephens upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on 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. UBS Group upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $955.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $46.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $979.73 and a 200-day moving average of $871.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 EPS.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger 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 transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger 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 transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $392,470,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after buying an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after buying an additional 43,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,595,000 after buying an additional 42,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.