W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 39.000-41.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 42.140. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.6 billion-$18.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $18.2 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,125.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,121.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,063.88.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.95 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.