William Blair Forecasts W.W. Grainger Q1 Earnings

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – William Blair issued their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for W.W. Grainger in a report released on Wednesday, April 9th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel anticipates that the industrial products company will earn $10.74 per share for the quarter. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $40.30 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q2 2026 earnings at $11.54 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $11.89 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $11.16 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $45.32 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $50.55 EPS.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 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 quarter last year, the company earned $8.33 EPS.

GWW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $960.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $994.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,072.40. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.