Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $390.00 to $376.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Sherwin-Williams traded as low as $308.05 and last traded at $305.9850, with a volume of 1256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $312.12.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SHW. Vertical Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $420.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $387.21.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. This trade represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $75.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $342.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 65.26% and a net margin of 10.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.16%.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.