W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Rating Increased to Overweight at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $1,250.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $1,000.00.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Loop Capital cut W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and raised their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $934.57 on Monday. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $979.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $877.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 39.3 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 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.