W W Grainger Inc Posts Lower Q4 Profits; Weak Outlook (GWW)

Before Monday’s opening bell, W W Grainger Inc (GWW ) released its fourth quarter financial results, posting lower profits.

GWW’s Earnings in Brief

• GWW’s net income fell to $148.84 million, or $2.14 per share, from $156.75 million, or $2.20 per share, last year.
• Excluding special items, earnings were $2.80 per share. Analysts expected to see EPS of $2.83.
• Revenue increased 6% to $2.51 billion from $2.38 billion a year ago.
• Looking forward, the company now expects to see FY2015 sales growth between 3% and 7%, and EPS between $12.60 and $13.60 per share. Previously, GWW expected sales growth between 5% and 9%, and EPS between $12.90 and $13.80 per share.
• On average, analysts expect to see FY2015 EPS of $13.48 and annual revenue of $10.63 billion.

GWW’s Dividend

The company paid its last $1.08 dividend on December 1. We expect GWW to declare its next dividend in the coming weeks.

Stock Performance

Shares of GWW were down $2.99, or 1.22%, during pre-market trading Monday.

Click here to see the complete history of GWW dividends.

The Bottom Line

W W Grainger Inc (GWW ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.2 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.