Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $308.05 and last traded at $305.9850, with a volume of 1256 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $312.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.21.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $351.13 and a 200 day moving average of $343.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 31.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,661,101.15. This trade represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,237,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,529,752,000 after buying an additional 600,119 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,638,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,067,497,000 after acquiring an additional 364,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,231,615 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,687,498,000 after acquiring an additional 37,145 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,334,918,000 after buying an additional 351,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,296,565,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.