Short Interest in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Expands By 22.5%

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, an increase of 22.5% from the October 15th total of 2,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 2.4 %

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $9.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $378.99. 1,711,805 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,634,481. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $376.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.17. 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 52 week low of $264.54 and a 52 week high of $392.57.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This represents a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $480,291,000 after purchasing an additional 917,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 610.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,045,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $311,971,000 after purchasing an additional 898,143 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $277,361,000 after acquiring an additional 724,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter worth $169,770,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $396.47.

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.

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