W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GWW. DA Davidson assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,385.45 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,419.91. The stock has a market cap of $65.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,336.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,204.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 45.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,051,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

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.