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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 38.000-40.500 for the period, compared to the consensus 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

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.2 %

GWW stock traded down $21.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $937.24. The stock had a trading volume of 107,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,303. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $980.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $872.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by 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.