Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

SHW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $267.00 to $255.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Zelman & Associates lowered Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $283.00 to $231.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $253.39.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $217.32 on Thursday. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $195.24 and a 1 year high of $285.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $231.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.38. The firm has a market cap of $56.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.05. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 90.04% and a net margin of 9.12%. The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 27th were issued a $0.605 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total value of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,145.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total transaction of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,145.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John G. Morikis bought 2,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $226.70 per share, with a total value of $500,326.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,445,684.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SHW. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 8.1% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 8,065 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 189.1% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 10,409 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 26.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,956,000 after purchasing an additional 24,884 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter worth about $1,231,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sherwin-Williams

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The Sherwin-Williams Co engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint and coatings. It operates through the following segments: America Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coating Group. The America Group segment manages the exclusive outlets for Sherwin-Williams branded paints, stains, supplies, equipment, and floor coverings.