W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.11 EPS

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11), Briefing.com reports. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger updated its FY24 guidance to $38.65-39.35 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 38.650-39.350 EPS.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GWW traded down $4.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,105.07. The company had a trading volume of 248,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,978. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $747.00 and a 1 year high of $1,130.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,033.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $970.74.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,058.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.