Oppenheimer Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its target price boosted by analysts at Oppenheimer from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.89% from the company’s current price.

GWW has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,052.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,183.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,033.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $996.05. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,204.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.02). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after acquiring an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,902,159,000 after purchasing an additional 13,779 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,289,000 after buying an additional 23,418 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $721,202,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About W.W. Grainger

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.