StockNews.com Upgrades Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) to Buy

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

SHW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.68.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $378.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,502,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,585,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $353.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.32. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $232.06 and a twelve month high of $382.83. The company has a market cap of $95.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the firm’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 value of $5,326,371.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,205,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 8,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.3% in the second quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 4,339 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.2% in the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 7,322 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter worth $11,335,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

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.