StockNews.com Upgrades Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) to “Buy”

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

SHW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.3 %

SHW stock opened at $388.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $377.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $344.36. Sherwin-Williams has a 12 month low of $272.34 and a 12 month high of $392.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Tamar Securities LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% during the third quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 48,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,608,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 98,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,449,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.