W.W. Grainger Q3 EPS Estimate Increased by Zacks Research

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Zacks Research upped their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will earn $11.76 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $11.52. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $40.30 per share.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on GWW. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,127.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,070.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,004.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 25.54%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $721,202,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $536,916,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,584,000 after buying an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting W.W. Grainger

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple forward EPS estimates across FY2026–FY2028 and several quarters (notably lifting Q2–Q4 2026 and Q1–Q3/FY2027 estimates and raising FY2027 & FY2028). Those upward revisions point to stronger expected earnings growth, supporting a higher valuation for GWW (current P/E ~31.9) and are a primary reason investors are buying the stock. MarketBeat GWW page
• Positive Sentiment: A MarketBeat feature on Genuine Parts Company’s spin-off highlights that pure-play industrial distributors (including W.W. Grainger) trade at premium multiples. That sector-level comparison underscores Grainger’s status as a benchmark industrial distributor and supports the view that continued earnings growth could sustain or expand GWW’s premium multiple. The Hidden Value in Genuine Parts Company’s Spin-Off Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Grainger announced a slate of 12 incumbent directors to stand for re-election at the April 29, 2026 annual meeting. This is routine and has limited direct impact on near-term fundamentals. Board slate announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also lowered its Q1 2026 EPS estimate (from $10.40 to $10.09), signalling some near-term demand/seasonality or margin pressure. That single-quarter cut injects caution into the outlook and helps explain intraday pullbacks when investors focus on short-term beats/misses.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.