W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on GWW. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $9.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $1,095.68. The stock had a trading volume of 150,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,596. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,035.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $972.05. The stock has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $758.11 and a 1-year high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.