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

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $383.32 on Wednesday. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $272.34 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market cap of $96.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $376.87 and a 200-day moving average of $343.67.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The trade was a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,548,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, First Interstate Bank lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% during the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 1,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.