Graco (NYSE:GGG) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. William Blair reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $88.25.

Graco Stock Down 1.8 %

GGG stock opened at $79.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.82. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Graco’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tobam raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.