Hennessy Advisors Inc. Invests $2.41 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,411,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $6,303,024,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $518,958,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,127,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key W.W. Grainger News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded GWW to a No. 2 (Buy) rank, citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. Zacks rating upgrade article
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple future EPS estimates, including FY2027 to $50.40 from $50.21 and FY2028 to $54.37 from $54.17. Estimates were also increased for Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q4 2027 and Q2 2028, suggesting modestly improving expectations for profitability. MarketBeat analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Grainger’s latest reported quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $12.01 versus the $11.30 consensus and revenue of $5.02 billion versus $4.96 billion. Revenue increased 10.3% year over year, supporting the case for continued earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary is mixed: GWW has outperformed the broader market over the past year, but analysts remain cautious about its future upside. Barchart analyst outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation may be limiting enthusiasm. Grainger trades at roughly 33 times earnings, while its shares are below the 50-day moving average after approaching a 12-month high. Investors may be taking profits or demanding stronger estimate increases before bidding the stock higher. MSN analyst outlook article

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,305.72 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,342.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,235.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,419.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,286.62.

About W.W. Grainger

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.