Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $308.05 and last traded at $305.9850, with a volume of 1256 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $312.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.21.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $343.37. The company has a market capitalization of $75.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 31.16%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,101.15. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,296,565,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 101.4% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,957,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $672,213,000 after purchasing an additional 985,520 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 53,827.1% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 662,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $214,581,000 after purchasing an additional 660,997 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,237,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,529,752,000 after purchasing an additional 600,119 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 55.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,665,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $587,047,000 after purchasing an additional 596,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

About Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.