What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Graco FY2024 Earnings?

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) – Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Graco in a report released on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $2.91 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.96. The consensus estimate for Graco’s current full-year earnings is $2.92 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Graco’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.78 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.70 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.90 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.30 EPS.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $89.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.45. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.82. Graco has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after purchasing an additional 443,141 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 134.4% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,169,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,532,000 after buying an additional 2,390,602 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after buying an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Graco by 5.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,732,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,361,000 after buying an additional 91,794 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.