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 investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, community ranking, media sentiment, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Is URI or GWW a better dividend stock?

United Rentals pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. W.W. Grainger pays an annual dividend of $8.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. W.W. Grainger pays out 21.2% 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 raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years. United Rentals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in URI or GWW?

United Rentals received 219 more outperform votes than W.W. Grainger when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.89% of users gave United Rentals an outperform vote while only 53.37% of users gave W.W. Grainger an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
United Rentals	Outperform Votes 765 64.89%	Underperform Votes 414 35.11%
W.W. Grainger	Outperform Votes 546 53.37%	Underperform Votes 477 46.63%

Does the media refer more to URI or GWW?

In the previous week, United Rentals had 16 more articles in the media than W.W. Grainger. MarketBeat recorded 42 mentions for United Rentals and 26 mentions for W.W. Grainger. United Rentals' average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat W.W. Grainger's score of 1.35 indicating that United Rentals is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
United Rentals	31 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
W.W. Grainger	21 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings & 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	$15.35B	2.79	$2.58B	$38.75	16.94
W.W. Grainger	$17.17B	2.86	$1.91B	$38.71	26.04

Do analysts rate URI or GWW?

United Rentals presently has a consensus target price of $829.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.29%. W.W. Grainger has a consensus target price of $1,148.56, indicating a potential upside of 13.94%. Given United Rentals' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly 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)	4 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
W.W. Grainger	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.23

Do institutionals and insiders believe in URI or GWW?

96.3% of United Rentals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of United Rentals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is URI or GWW more profitable?

United Rentals has a net margin of 16.78% compared to W.W. Grainger's net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger's return on equity of 52.43% beat United Rentals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Rentals	16.78%	34.21%	10.37%
W.W. Grainger	11.12%	52.43%	22.15%

Which has more risk and volatility, URI or GWW?

United Rentals has a beta of 1.68, indicating that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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