Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SHW. KeyCorp upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets restated an outperform rating and issued a $377.00 price target (down from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $337.37.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $304.80 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $77.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.15. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $221.76 and a one year high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. Sherwin-Williams’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.49%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Karl J. Jorgenrud sold 2,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.50, for a total value of $867,525.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,173,472.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.7% in the first quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 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.