W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Releases 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 $38.65-39.35 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $38.70. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.1-17.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.20 billion. W.W. Grainger also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 38.650-39.350 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $4.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,105.07. The company had a trading volume of 248,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,978. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,035.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $971.79. The firm has a market cap of $53.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $747.00 and a 1-year high of $1,130.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.