W.W. Grainger Q2 EPS Estimate Increased by Zacks Research

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for W.W. Grainger in a report released on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $10.63 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $10.60. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $40.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q3 2026 earnings at $11.69 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $10.43 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,096.71.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,118.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,109.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,026.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. 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 one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,037,728,000 after acquiring an additional 23,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,214,000 after acquiring an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 389,589 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. 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.