Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $309.26, but opened at $297.83. Sherwin-Williams shares last traded at $297.31, with a volume of 1,034,924 shares traded.

The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 EPS.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,435,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,685,876,000 after acquiring an additional 179,274 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,102 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,063,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,291,563,000 after acquiring an additional 75,571 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,197,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $1,176,356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $76.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.73.

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.