W.W. Grainger (GWW) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) will be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect W.W. Grainger to post earnings of $9.57 per share for the quarter. W.W. Grainger has set its FY24 guidance at $38.00-40.50 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 38.000-40.500 EPS.Individual interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect W.W. Grainger to post $39 EPS for the current fiscal year and $43 EPS for the next fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $949.92 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $980.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $863.40.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 59,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,635,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $663,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 187.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 21,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,014,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted 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 given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

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.