Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

SHW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $418.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $362.68.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of SHW stock opened at $378.52 on Friday. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $232.06 and a 1 year high of $382.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $353.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $328.32. The company has a market cap of $95.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. The business had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,205,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 8,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 4,339 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.2% during the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 7,322 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.