Ferguson Enterprises vs W.W. Grainger
FERG and GWW side by side, both in wholesale trade-durable goods. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How FERG and GWW compare
W.W. Grainger is the larger company, worth 1.4 times as much as Ferguson Enterprises ($64.0B against $46.2B).
On earnings, Ferguson Enterprises is cheaper: it trades at 24.1× trailing earnings, against 34.6× for W.W. Grainger.
W.W. Grainger grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (7.8% versus 4.9% for Ferguson Enterprises).
W.W. Grainger keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 9.9% compared with 6.3% at Ferguson Enterprises.
Both pay dividends: Ferguson Enterprises yields 1.5% and W.W. Grainger 0.70%.
W.W. Grainger scores higher on the StockData Score (16 against 14 for Ferguson Enterprises), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | FERG | GWW |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $46.2B | $64.0B |
| Share price | $238.68 | $1359.17 |
| Change, 1 year | −4.2% | 41.7% |
| Change, 5 years | 55.9% | 187% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.93 | 0.82 |
| Employees | 35K | 25K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 14 | 16 (better) |
| Valuation score | 0 | 0 |
| Growth score | 3 | 3 |
| Performance score | 5 | 5 |
| Health score | 3 | 4 (better) |
| Dividend score | 3 | 4 (better) |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 24.1× (better) | 34.6× |
| P/S | 1.5× (better) | 3.4× |
| P/B | 7.4× (better) | 15.5× |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.4× (better) | 21.5× |
| P/FCF | 28.0× (better) | 42.4× |
| PEG | – | 6.18 |
| FCF yield | 3.6% (better) | 2.4% |
| Fair value | $190.85 | $855.20 |
| Margin of safety | −25.1% (better) | −58.9% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 4.9% | 7.8% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 9.1% (better) | 8.7% |
| Net income growth (TTM) | 16.0% (better) | −2.7% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | 18.8% (better) | −0.71% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | 17.1% | 22.5% (better) |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 30.8% | 39.4% (better) |
| Operating margin | 8.7% | 14.6% (better) |
| Net margin | 6.3% | 9.9% (better) |
| FCF margin | 5.3% | 8.0% (better) |
| Return on equity | 33.5% | 47.9% (better) |
| Return on invested capital | 21.4% | 35.6% (better) |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 0.79 | 0.58 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.45 | 0.59 (better) |
| Current ratio | 1.73 | 2.81 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 5.05 | 13.22 (better) |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 (better) | 5 |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 1.5% (better) | 0.70% |
| Payout ratio | 33.4% | 26.5% |
| Years of dividend growth | 1 | 16 (better) |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | 17.7% (better) | 8.3% |
| Buyback yield | 1.9% (better) | 1.6% |
| Shareholder yield | 3.4% (better) | 2.3% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 96.8% | 75.0% |
| Held by insiders | 0.19% | 6.3% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$1.2M (better) | −$33.5M |
| Superinvestors holding | 10 | – |
| Short interest, % of float | 3.6% | 2.8% |
Go deeper
- FERG stock overview
- FERG income statement
- FERG valuation and score
- GWW stock overview
- GWW income statement
- GWW valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.