W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 38.000-40.500 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 39.360. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.2 billion-$17.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.5 billion. W.W. Grainger also updated its FY24 guidance to $38.00-40.50 EPS.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $19.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $928.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 357,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $979.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $873.99. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $641.95 and a one year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $913.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

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.