W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded by Oppenheimer to Outperform Rating

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $1,250.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.88% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,051.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,005.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $991.25. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,139.15. The stock has a market cap of $50.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,902,159,000 after buying an additional 13,779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,306,289,000 after acquiring an additional 23,418 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $721,202,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.