W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded at William Blair

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by analysts at William Blair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

GWW has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $981.16 on Monday. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,052.04 and its 200-day moving average is $1,076.94. 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 capitalization of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after acquiring an additional 40,376 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $718,769,000 after buying an additional 84,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.