W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,253.85.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Stephens downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,365.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,340.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,298.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,232.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.73% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 46.31 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.3% in the third quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $243,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 147,683.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $373,728,000 after acquiring an additional 299,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies for businesses, government agencies and other organizations. Its product offerings include safety equipment, tools, fasteners, electrical and plumbing supplies, material-handling equipment, cleaning and janitorial products, HVAC supplies, and facility-maintenance products.

The company also provides services designed to help customers manage procurement and workplace operations, including product selection support, inventory-management programs, digital purchasing tools, and technical assistance.