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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $966.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.50% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of GWW opened at $942.43 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,013.43 and a 200 day moving average of $1,076.01. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during 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 bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently 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.