Reviewing Sherwin-Williams (SHW) & Its Peers

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) is one of 295 public companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Sherwin-Williams to related companies based on the strength of its risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Sherwin-Williams and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sherwin-Williams	10.74%	69.51%	11.04%
Sherwin-Williams Competitors	-61.58%	1.07%	-1.45%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Sherwin-Williams and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sherwin-Williams	0	12	15	0	2.56
Sherwin-Williams Competitors	3241	12196	14114	516	2.40

Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus target price of $377.29, indicating a potential upside of 7.12%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 6.44%. Given Sherwin-Williams’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Sherwin-Williams is more favorable than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

Sherwin-Williams has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sherwin-Williams’ peers have a beta of 0.94, indicating that their average stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Sherwin-Williams pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Sherwin-Williams pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 108.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Sherwin-Williams has raised its dividend for 48 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.7% of Sherwin-Williams shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.5% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Sherwin-Williams shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sherwin-Williams and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sherwin-Williams	$24.91 billion	$2.57 billion	32.37
Sherwin-Williams Competitors	$6.42 billion	$222.31 million	-3.58

Sherwin-Williams has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Sherwin-Williams is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Sherwin-Williams beats its peers on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The Paint Stores Group segment offers architectural paints and coatings, and protective and marine products, as well as OEM product finishes and related products for architectural and industrial paint contractors, and do-it-yourself homeowners. The Consumer Brands Group segment supplies a portfolio of branded and private-label architectural paints, stains, varnishes, industrial products, wood finishes products, wood preservatives, applicators, corrosion inhibitors, aerosols, caulks, and adhesives to retailers, including home centers and hardware stores, and dedicated dealers and distributors. The Performance Coatings Group segment develops and sells industrial coatings for wood finishing and general industrial applications, automotive refinish products, protective and marine coatings, coil coatings, packaging coatings, and performance-based resins and colorants. It serves retailers, dealers, jobbers, licensees, and other third-party distributors through its branches and direct sales staff, as well as through outside sales representatives. The company has operations primarily in the North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The Sherwin-Williams Company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.