W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Rating Lowered to “Underperform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a peer perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $966.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

GWW has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $942.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,013.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,076.44. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Busey Bank lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.