W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Forecasted to Earn Q4 2024 Earnings of $9.20 Per Share

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of W.W. Grainger in a report issued on Friday, April 19th. Zacks Research analyst S. Deb now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $9.20 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $9.19. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $39.26 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q1 2025 earnings at $10.18 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $10.80 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $10.60 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $10.51 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $42.09 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $11.03 EPS.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1 %

GWW stock opened at $942.07 on Monday. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $979.33 and a 200 day moving average of $869.76.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,528,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 56.6% in the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 87,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,731,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $9,265,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,279,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.