W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Short Interest Update

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,180,462 shares, an increase of 13.7% from the March 31st total of 1,038,541 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 227,177 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,118.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,161.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,118.39 and its 200 day moving average is $1,052.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.54%.

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.