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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised Sherwin-Williams to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $338.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $370.39.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.3 %

SHW stock opened at $381.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $360.87 and its 200 day moving average is $330.01. The stock has a market cap of $96.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.17. Sherwin-Williams has a 1-year low of $232.06 and a 1-year high of $385.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at $23,301,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 102.3% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 136.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 233.3% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter valued at $47,000. 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.