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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 38.000-40.500 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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 Trading Down 2.0 %

GWW stock traded down $19.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $928.65. The company had a trading volume of 357,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $979.95 and a 200 day moving average of $873.99. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $641.95 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and increased their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $913.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About W.W. Grainger

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.