The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Short Interest Up 41.7% in February

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,520,000 shares, an increase of 41.7% from the February 13th total of 4,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy 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 $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after buying an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 117,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,676,000 after buying an additional 4,681 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $341.99 on Friday. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $86.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $353.85 and its 200 day moving average is $365.59.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams 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 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.