Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Stock Price

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $385.00 to $355.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.19.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $350.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $353.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.46. The company has a market capitalization of $88.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year 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) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after buying an additional 106,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,636,679,000 after buying an additional 96,571 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after buying an additional 86,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.