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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. 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 Down 2.0 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $19.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $928.65. 357,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,833. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $979.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $873.99. 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 company has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their target price for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $913.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.