The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $341.39.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.0% during the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bancreek Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bancreek Capital Management LP now owns 20,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,017,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Eos Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 879.3% in the 1st quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 10,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,578,000 after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 76.4% during the 1st quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $311.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.78. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $221.76 and a 52 week high of $348.37. The company has a market capitalization of $78.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $327.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $300.64.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.49%.

About Sherwin-Williams

The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coating, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. It operates through three segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group.