Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Given Buy Rating at Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a $423.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $418.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.76.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $359.62 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $350.65 and its 200-day moving average is $365.58. The stock has a market cap of $90.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid 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 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,239,715,000 after purchasing an additional 106,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,636,679,000 after purchasing an additional 96,571 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.