Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SHW. UBS Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $393.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Sherwin-Williams has a 12 month low of $272.34 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $378.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.30. The stock has a market cap of $99.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 449.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $19,690,000 after buying an additional 46,375 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 34.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 22,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,799,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 134,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,404,000 after purchasing an additional 21,055 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter worth approximately $7,782,000. Finally, Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.5% during the first quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 8,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

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.