The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Receives $341.39 Average Price Target from Analysts

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $341.39.

A number of brokerages have commented on SHW. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $377.00 price objective (down previously from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW opened at $319.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $326.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Sherwin-Williams has a 12-month low of $221.76 and a 12-month high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,639 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% during the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 2,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth about $4,517,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by 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.