The Dividend Daily

Oppenheimer has upgraded operating supplies distributor, W.W. Grainger, Inc.(GWW) to “Outperform,” and has lowered its price target Friday.

The firm has increased its rating on the company from “Perform” to “Outperform,” and has lowered its price target from $225 to $220. This price target suggests a 15% increase over the stock’s current price of $187.08.

An analyst from the firm commented, “EPS guidance of $10.85-12.00 compared to $12.05 consensus, and includes a mild recession at the low end. We believe guidance overall takes a conservative approach, and on the recent pullback, we are upgrading to Outperform based on (1) long-term US and global market share runway and solid margin drivers, (2) our expectation of defensive financial characteristics, given risky macro (while retaining strong cyclical leverage), and (3) expectation that pace of share gain (which has ebbed) will re-accelerate at some point as management tweaks the various approaches to growing market share.”

W.W. Grainger shares were mostly flat during premarket trading Friday. The stock is mostly flat YTD.

The Bottom Line
Shares of W.W. Grainger (GWW) have a 1.71% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $187.08. The stock has technical support in the $177-$180 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $197-$200 price levels.

W.W. Grainger, Inc.(GWW) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.