W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $38.00-40.50 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.46. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.2-17.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.48 billion. W.W. Grainger also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 38.000-40.500 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $10.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $947.84. The stock had a trading volume of 418,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,314. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $980.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $872.58. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.