W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,080.3750.

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Loop Capital cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,685.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,033,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 116.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,506,000 after buying an additional 18,216 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,796,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,020.6010 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,017.89 and a 200 day moving average of $1,020.22.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

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.