Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Upgraded by Berenberg Bank to Buy Rating

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) was upgraded by investment analysts at Berenberg Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $420.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $321.00. Berenberg Bank’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.25% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.29.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $361.28 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $90.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $362.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $361.13. Sherwin-Williams has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth $261,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 665 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,126 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.