Graco Inc. (GGG) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.40.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GGG shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Graco from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,632,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth $6,051,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth $100,157,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at $57,954,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Graco by 7.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,090,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,039,000 after purchasing an additional 146,032 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $68.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.16. Graco has a 1 year low of $65.96 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $586.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.17 million. Graco had a return on equity of 20.13% and a net margin of 22.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Graco will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be issued a $0.2950 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a global manufacturer of equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and apply fluids and other materials. Its products are used in industrial, commercial and residential applications involving paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, chemicals and other fluids.

The company’s product portfolio includes pumps, valves, meters, regulators, fluid-management systems, lubrication equipment, spray-applied coating and finishing systems, sealant and adhesive equipment, and contractor-oriented painting and texture application tools.