Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target Cut to $370.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $390.00 to $370.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

SHW has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group raised Sherwin-Williams from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Sherwin-Williams from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $337.37.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $304.81 on Thursday. Sherwin-Williams has a 52-week low of $221.76 and a 52-week high of $348.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.15.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,029,710.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth $25,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $28,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $33,000. 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.