W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $956.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $976.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $887.57. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.7% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 9,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,523,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,400,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,027,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.