W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,151.50.

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5 %

GWW stock opened at $993.21 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,022.30 and its 200 day moving average is $1,077.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $47.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% 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.