Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $383.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $376.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.67. Sherwin-Williams has a 1-year low of $272.34 and a 1-year high of $392.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $96.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 10.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,302,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $799,595,000 after purchasing an additional 219,149 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $573,538,000 after purchasing an additional 53,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $480,291,000 after buying an additional 917,979 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.