W.W. Grainger (GWW) Competitors

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) and W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) are both large-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, community ranking, media sentiment and dividends.

Does the media prefer URI or GWW?

In the previous week, United Rentals had 30 more articles in the media than W.W. Grainger. MarketBeat recorded 51 mentions for United Rentals and 21 mentions for W.W. Grainger. W.W. Grainger's average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat United Rentals' score of 1.12 indicating that W.W. Grainger is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
United Rentals	31 Very Positive mention(s)	12 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
W.W. Grainger	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in URI or GWW?

United Rentals received 216 more outperform votes than W.W. Grainger when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.85% of users gave United Rentals an outperform vote while only 53.48% of users gave W.W. Grainger an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
United Rentals	Outperform Votes 762 64.85%	Underperform Votes 413 35.15%
W.W. Grainger	Outperform Votes 546 53.48%	Underperform Votes 475 46.52%

Is URI or GWW a better dividend stock?

United Rentals pays an annual dividend of $6.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger pays an annual dividend of $8.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. W.W. Grainger pays out 22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. W.W. Grainger has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years. United Rentals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in URI or GWW?

96.3% of United Rentals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of United Rentals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of W.W. Grainger shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility and risk, URI or GWW?

United Rentals has a beta of 1.69, suggesting that its stock price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate URI or GWW?

United Rentals currently has a consensus target price of $805.08, indicating a potential upside of 2.02%. W.W. Grainger has a consensus target price of $1,140.56, indicating a potential upside of 1.76%. Given United Rentals' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe United Rentals is more favorable than W.W. Grainger.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Rentals	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64
W.W. Grainger	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.23

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, URI or GWW?

United Rentals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than W.W. Grainger. United Rentals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W.W. Grainger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Rentals	$14.33B	3.61	$2.42B	$38.29	20.61
W.W. Grainger	$16.48B	3.31	$1.83B	$36.89	30.38

Is URI or GWW more profitable?

United Rentals has a net margin of 17.12% compared to W.W. Grainger's net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger's return on equity of 51.78% beat United Rentals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Rentals	17.12%	34.73%	10.62%
W.W. Grainger	10.80%	51.78%	21.91%

Summary

United Rentals beats W.W. Grainger on 14 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.