GWW - W.W. Grainger, Inc - topped or matched the consensus estimate for 14 consecutive quarters

W.W. Grainger, Inc (GWW), after posting solid first-quarter results, raised the bottom end of its previous full-year guidance by 10 cents. Analysts responded to the company’s bullish guidance by upping their estimates. GWW’s 2007 product catalog contains an increase of 23,000 items over last year's record offering. The company has a current dividend yield of 1.4% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.5%. Full Analysis W.W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading broad-line supplier of facilities maintenance products. The company’s customers consist of 1.8 million businesses and institutions across North America and China. GWW works with more than 1,300 suppliers to provide customers with access to more than 800,000 products. GWW exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations over the past three quarters and has topped or matched the consensus estimate for 14 consecutive quarters. Earnings per share grew 14.1% over the past five years. On Apr 16, GWW posted first-quarter earnings per share of $1.17, which amounted to a quarterly record for the company. With analysts calling for profits of $1.08 per share, GWW surprised to the upside by 8.3%. Compared to earnings of 93 cents in the first quarter of last year, the result represented a 25.8% year-over-year improvement. Revenues jumped 9.2% to $1.55 billion from $1.42 billion. Chairman and CEO Richard L. Keyser stated, "We're executing well on our strategy and our investments in growth are paying off. We continue to gain share in this fragmented industry by serving our existing customers well and leveraging our supply chain, branch network and sales resources to find and serve new customers. We expect to earn more business by helping customers get the job done." Based on GWW’s strong first-quarter results, the company raised the bottom end of its previous guidance by 10 cents. GWW now projects 2007 earnings per share to be between $4.70 and $4.85. Analysts responded to the company’s bullish guidance by upping their estimates. The consensus estimate for this year currently sits at $4.77, marking a five-cent improvement over the past seven days. Profit forecasts for next year have also risen by five cents to $5.39. Earnings per share are projected to grow 12.3% over the next 3-5 years. In early February, GWW announced the release of its 2007 product catalog, which features more than 138,000 facilities maintenance products, an increase of 23,000 items over last year's record offering. In addition to the product expansion, GWW also added new search and selection tools on grainger.com which should greatly assist its customer base. On Jan 31, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 29 cents per share. The company has a current dividend yield of 1.4% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.5%. Its return on equity almost doubles that of the industry average—17% compared 9%. GWW is a Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) stock. Zacks #2 Rank stocks have generated an average annual return of 21.6% since 1988. Because the Zacks Rank has a market cap bias, Growth & Income investors may find a greater number of large-cap stocks by considering both Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) and Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) stocks in their selection criteria. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home