The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $386.3333.

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Vertical Research upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.4%

SHW stock opened at $372.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $342.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $345.26. The company has a market cap of $92.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.25. Sherwin-Williams has a 12-month low of $308.84 and a 12-month high of $379.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 8,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,246,000. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 33,513 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,859,000 after buying an additional 8,678 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $2,464,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.