urban-gro (NASDAQ:UGRO) & W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Critical Comparison
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyW.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Free Report) and urban-gro (NASDAQ:UGRO – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for W.W. Grainger and urban-gro, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| W.W. Grainger | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.10 |
| urban-gro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus price target of $1,265.12, indicating a potential downside of 2.21%. Given W.W. Grainger’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe W.W. Grainger is more favorable than urban-gro.
Volatility and Risk
W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, urban-gro has a beta of -2.91, indicating that its stock price is 391% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares W.W. Grainger and urban-gro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| W.W. Grainger | 9.70% | 47.87% | 21.84% |
| urban-gro | -82.11% | -118.44% | -33.76% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares W.W. Grainger and urban-gro”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| W.W. Grainger | $17.94 billion | 3.40 | $1.71 billion | $37.18 | 34.80 |
| urban-gro | $17.40 million | 0.09 | -$22.10 million | ($27.87) | -0.04 |
W.W. Grainger has higher revenue and earnings than urban-gro. urban-gro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W.W. Grainger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.6% of urban-gro shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.3% of W.W. Grainger shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of urban-gro shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
W.W. Grainger beats urban-gro on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About W.W. Grainger
W.W. Grainger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools. It also offers technical support and inventory management services. The company serves smaller businesses to large corporations, government entities, and other institutions, as well as commercial, healthcare, and manufacturing industries through sales and service representatives, and electronic and ecommerce channels. W.W. Grainger, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.
About urban-gro
urban-gro, Inc. engages in the designing, engineering, building, and integrating complex environmental equipment systems for indoor controlled environment agriculture (CEA) cultivation and retail facilities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company provides architectural design, engineering, and construction services comprising pre-construction, cultivation space programming (CSP), architectural and interior design, engineering, integrated cultivation design, owner's representative/construction management, and general contracting services; and maintenance, training, and support services. It also offers facility and equipment commissioning services; gro-care crop and asset protection services, including training services, equipment maintenance services, asset protection program, and an interactive online operating support system for gro-care and client document delivery and project management; and property condition assessment services. In addition, the company provides integrated equipment systems solutions, such as design, source, and integration of complex environmental equipment systems comprising heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions, as well as environmental control, fertigation, irrigation distribution, water treatment, and wastewater reclamation systems; and commercial horticulture lighting solutions, rolling and automated container benching systems, specialty fans, microbial mitigation, and odor reduction systems. Further, it offers value-Added Reselling (VAR) of cultivation equipment systems; and strategic vendor relationships with premier manufacturers. It primarily markets and sells its solutions to clients in the CEA that includes operators and facilitators in the cannabis and produce markets; and commercial sectors comprising food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies, healthcare, higher education, and hospitality. urban-gro, Inc. was founded in 2014 and is based in Lafayette, Colorado.