W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Raised to “Outperform” at William Blair

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by equities researchers at William Blair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,007.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,054.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,076.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. 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 posted 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 earned $8.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth about $240,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.