Barclays starts Grainger at Underweight,sees limited earnings recovery potential

Barclays initiated coverage of Grainger (GWW) with an Underweight rating and $963 price target Grainger is the market leader in the U.S. maintenance, repair, and operations distribution market, though MRO is not the firm’s favored market, with the end-market mix weighted toward government, commercial services, and healthcare, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm noted that this limits the earnings recovery potential compared with peers that have more short-cycle and rate-sensitive exposure.