The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Short Interest Update

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,920,000 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the March 15th total of 5,790,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $395.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.25.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE SHW traded up $7.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $329.90. 210,101 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $358.32. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,636,679,000 after buying an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,467,138,000 after buying an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is 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.