W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $38.00-40.50 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $39.46. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.2-17.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.48 billion. W.W. Grainger also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 38.000-40.500 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. 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 note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $19.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $928.65. 357,375 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,833. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $980.09 and a 200-day moving average of $872.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

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 owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.