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

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $403.31.

SHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $356.02 on Friday. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $350.92 and a 200 day moving average of $365.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.