W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,185.00 to $1,172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,253.92.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,307.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,289.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,271.62. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,419.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.97 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 46.25 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 420.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and related services. The company serves businesses, government organizations and other institutions that need supplies to maintain facilities, equipment and operations.

Its product offerings include tools, safety equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing components, lighting, heating and cooling equipment, and other industrial and facility-management products.