W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,159.1429.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th.

More W.W. Grainger News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Grainger beat Wall Street expectations with Q1 EPS of $11.65 versus $10.21 expected, and revenue of $4.74 billion versus $4.58 billion expected, signaling stronger-than-anticipated demand. Grainger Reports Results for the First Quarter 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its FY2026 guidance, now targeting EPS of $44.25 to $46.25 and revenue of $19.2 billion to $19.6 billion, above consensus estimates, which reinforces confidence in continued growth. Grainger Reports Results for the First Quarter 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strong services demand, margin expansion, and robust performance across both business segments, while also announcing a 10% quarterly dividend increase and continued share repurchases. Grainger Reports Results for the First Quarter 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on GWW to $1,337 from $1,170, but kept a “sector perform” rating, suggesting valuation upside is recognized but the firm remains cautious on near-term relative performance. Benzinga report on RBC price target increase

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,233.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,121.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,058.34. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,286.56. The company has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after acquiring an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,037,728,000 after acquiring an additional 23,399 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,214,000 after acquiring an additional 10,533 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after acquiring an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.