Graco (GGG) Expected to Release Quarterly Earnings on Monday

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) is expected to be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Monday, January 27th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.77 per share and revenue of $552,190.00 billion for the quarter. Parties interested in participating in the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Graco to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.26. 582,362 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 591,196. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.36. Graco has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.