Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Its Competitors Head-To-Head Survey

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) is one of 296 publicly-traded companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Sherwin-Williams to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.7% of Sherwin-Williams shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Sherwin-Williams shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Sherwin-Williams and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sherwin-Williams	10.74%	69.51%	11.04%
Sherwin-Williams Competitors	-54.07%	-0.31%	-1.28%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sherwin-Williams and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sherwin-Williams	$23.57 billion	$2.57 billion	32.63
Sherwin-Williams Competitors	$7.96 billion	$229.42 million	20.19

Sherwin-Williams has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Sherwin-Williams is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Sherwin-Williams has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sherwin-Williams’ peers have a beta of 0.94, suggesting that their average stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Sherwin-Williams pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Sherwin-Williams pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.0% and pay out 101.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Sherwin-Williams has raised its dividend for 48 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Sherwin-Williams and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sherwin-Williams	0	12	15	0	2.56
Sherwin-Williams Competitors	3272	12238	14147	520	2.39

Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus target price of $377.29, indicating a potential upside of 6.26%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 6.73%. Given Sherwin-Williams’ peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sherwin-Williams has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Sherwin-Williams beats its peers on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

About Sherwin-Williams

The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global manufacturer, retailer and distributor of paints and coatings. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company serves customers through company-operated paint stores, home improvement retailers, distributors and other channels. Its products include paints, stains and related supplies for homes and commercial buildings, as well as coatings for industrial, automotive, protective and marine applications. The company markets products under brands including Sherwin-Williams and Valspar.