Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $386.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $418.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.68.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $382.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $358.47 and its 200 day moving average is $329.52. Sherwin-Williams has a 12 month low of $232.06 and a 12 month high of $385.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,403 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.