W.W. Grainger (GWW) shares rallied 5.8% in the last trading session to close at $1,085.04. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 2.8% gain over the past four weeks.

Shares of Grainger have been gaining on solid growth in both its segments. The company’s High-Touch Solutions North America (N.A.)  segment has been gaining from continued volume growth across all geographies and strong price realization. The gross margin was driven by an improved product mix. The segment will continue to benefit from pricing actions, and strength in commercial, transportation and heavy manufacturing. The Endless Assortment segment continues to be aided by customer acquisition across the segment and repeat customer growth at MonotaRO.

Grainger’s strategic initiatives and efforts to increase market share across the business is driving growth. Grainger expects earnings per share of $38.00-$39.50 for 2024. The mid-point of the guidance indicates 6% growth from the 2023 reported figure. Grainger expects net sales between $17 billion and $17.3 billion. Sales growth is expected to be 3.2-5.2%. Daily sales growth is envisioned at 4-6%. Grainger’s initiatives and supply-chain advantages are likely to aid the company in meeting its guidance.

This seller of maintenance and other supplies is expected to post quarterly earnings of $9.98 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +5.8%. Revenues are expected to be $4.4 billion, up 4.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For W.W. Grainger, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised marginally higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on GWW going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

W.W. Grainger belongs to the Zacks Industrial Services industry. Another stock from the same industry, SiteOne Landscape (SITE), closed the last trading session 6.1% higher at $148.32. Over the past month, SITE has returned 3%.