Graco (GGG) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Wednesday

Graco (NYSE:GGG) will be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect Graco to post earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 24.61%. The firm had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.86 million. On average, analysts expect Graco to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Graco Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $88.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.19 and a 200-day moving average of $84.71. Graco has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.82, for a total transaction of $232,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,481,535.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.80.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.