Oppenheimer Upgrades W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) to “Outperform”

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $1,250.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.87% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,069.55 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,010.93 and its 200-day moving average is $991.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,139.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.