Brokers Issue Forecasts for W.W. Grainger FY2026 Earnings

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for W.W. Grainger in a report released on Monday, March 10th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the industrial products company will earn $45.27 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $45.12. William Blair has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $40.30 per share.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $981.16 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,052.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,076.94. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,618,812,000 after purchasing an additional 40,376 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

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.