W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 45.500-47.250 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 45.590. The company issued revenue guidance of $19.4 billion-$19.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.5 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,265.12.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,370.50 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,419.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,338.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,206.99. The company has a market cap of $64.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.97 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $202,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.