Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

SHW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $338.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.68.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $378.52 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.81. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $232.06 and a 52 week high of $382.83. The firm has a market cap of $95.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35, a P/E/G 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. The company had revenue of $6.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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, equities research analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,924 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,848,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 55,259 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,235,000 after acquiring an additional 8,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.