The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $388.2143.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 149.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,744 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 16.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,536,000 after buying an additional 17,422 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 26.1% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 30,927 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,709,000 after buying an additional 6,408 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth about $1,069,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,328,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,666,732,000 after acquiring an additional 246,008 shares during 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 $333.36 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $352.33 and a 200 day moving average of $345.51. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $308.84 and a 1 year high of $379.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.16%.

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.