W.W. Grainger (GWW) Ascends But Remains Behind Market: Some Facts to Note
In the latest market close, W.W. Grainger (GWW) reached $989.04, with a +0.66% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.03%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.34%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.51%.
The the stock of seller of maintenance and other supplies has risen by 3.98% in the past month, lagging the Industrial Products sector's gain of 5.61% and overreaching the S&P 500's gain of 3.21%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of W.W. Grainger in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $9.58, down 0.31% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.28 billion, indicating a 4.62% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $39.22 per share and revenue of $17.49 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.95% and +6.13%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for W.W. Grainger. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.2% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. W.W. Grainger is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
Looking at valuation, W.W. Grainger is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.05. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 16.84.
Meanwhile, GWW's PEG ratio is currently 1.93. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Industrial Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.38.
The Industrial Services industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 86, finds itself in the top 35% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
