The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $343.41.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SHW. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $377.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $301.26. 2,312,736 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,794,700. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $232.06 and a 52 week high of $348.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50 day moving average price is $306.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.39.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

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.