W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $38.00-40.50 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $39.46. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.2-17.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.48 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3 %

GWW stock opened at $958.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $980.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $872.05.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.