The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $397.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $395.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $3.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $357.14. 1,112,069 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,719,911. The stock has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $346.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.61. Sherwin-Williams has a 12-month low of $292.27 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 29.87%.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 1,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% in the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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.