Q3 EPS Estimates for W.W. Grainger Boosted by Zacks Research

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,127.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,070.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,004.54. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 101.7% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,361,000 after buying an additional 8,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.