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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 38.650-39.350 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 38.610. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.1 billion-$17.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $17.2 billion. W.W. Grainger also updated its FY24 guidance to $38.65-39.35 EPS.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $11.38 on Thursday, reaching $1,110.72. The company had a trading volume of 490,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,915. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $721.99 and a 52-week high of $1,130.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,033.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $970.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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 $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. 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 shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,043.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 111,559 shares in the company, 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. 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.