DA Davidson Begins Coverage on W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW)

Analysts at DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a research report issued on Tuesday. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target suggests a potential downside of 4.94% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,217.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,314.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,216.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,118.73. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,349.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,912,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 3,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,788,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.