W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the October 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 208,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.5 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,172.13 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,082.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $990.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction 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 approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,034,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% 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.