W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 38.000-40.500 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 39.360. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.2 billion-$17.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.5 billion. W.W. Grainger also updated its FY24 guidance to $38.00-40.50 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Stephens lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $18.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $929.26. The stock had a trading volume of 357,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,078. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $979.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $875.13. The company has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 39.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.