Q2 EPS Estimates for W.W. Grainger Boosted by Zacks Research

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for W.W. Grainger in a research report issued on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $10.63 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $10.60. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $40.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q3 2026 earnings at $11.69 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $10.43 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GWW. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,096.71.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,118.40 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The stock has a market cap of $52.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,110.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,027.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 136.4% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,897,511.55. The trade was a 18.60% 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. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.54%.

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.