Sherwin-Williams (SHW) Competitors

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) and Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Is SHW or LIN a better dividend stock?

Sherwin-Williams pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Sherwin-Williams pays out 31.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde pays out 43.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sherwin-Williams has increased its dividend for 48 consecutive years and Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Does the media favor SHW or LIN?

In the previous week, Sherwin-Williams had 26 more articles in the media than Linde. MarketBeat recorded 88 mentions for Sherwin-Williams and 62 mentions for Linde. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Sherwin-Williams' score of 0.32 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sherwin-Williams	38 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	16 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Linde	54 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in SHW or LIN?

77.7% of Sherwin-Williams shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Sherwin-Williams shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Linde shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is SHW or LIN more profitable?

Linde has a net margin of 20.02% compared to Sherwin-Williams' net margin of 11.03%. Sherwin-Williams' return on equity of 66.91% beat Linde's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sherwin-Williams	11.03%	66.91%	11.48%
Linde	20.02%	18.95%	9.26%

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, SHW or LIN?

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Sherwin-Williams. Sherwin-Williams is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Linde, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sherwin-Williams	$23.10B	3.65	$2.68B	$10.08	33.36
Linde	$33.01B	6.67	$6.57B	$13.77	33.95

Do analysts recommend SHW or LIN?

Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus price target of $383.33, indicating a potential upside of 13.99%. Linde has a consensus price target of $518.80, indicating a potential upside of 10.98%. Given Sherwin-Williams' higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Sherwin-Williams is more favorable than Linde.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sherwin-Williams	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.65
Linde	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more volatility & risk, SHW or LIN?

Sherwin-Williams has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linde has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Linde beats Sherwin-Williams on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.