W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $2.26 on March 1st

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of 2.26 per share by the industrial products company on Sunday, March 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th.

W.W. Grainger has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 55 consecutive years. W.W. Grainger has a payout ratio of 20.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $44.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $9.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,081.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,014.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $992.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,130.61.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.