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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) is scheduled to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce 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.Parties interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. 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 Stock Down 0.7 %

GWW stock opened at $949.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $980.02 and a 200-day moving average of $863.40.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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 on 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 owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,074,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $846,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,027,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $706,047,000 after purchasing an additional 100,380 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 654,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $364,168,000 after purchasing an additional 130,519 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 559,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $463,418,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $258,792,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

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.