Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $267.00 to $255.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $267.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $283.00 to $231.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $253.39.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $217.32 on Thursday. Sherwin-Williams has a 12 month low of $195.24 and a 12 month high of $285.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.38.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.26 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 90.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.605 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $2.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

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

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.