W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. W.W. Grainger updated its FY24 guidance to $38.00-40.50 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 38.000-40.500 EPS.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $18.58 on Friday, hitting $929.26. 357,375 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,833. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $980.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $872.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.