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Why Should You Add Sherwin-Williams (SHW) to Your Portfolio?

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The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW - Free Report) is benefiting from favorable demand in its domestic end-use markets, focus on growth through expansion of operations and productivity improvement initiatives. The company’s shares have popped roughly 17% over the past three months.

We are positive on the company’s prospects and believe that the time is right for you to add the stock to the portfolio as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead.

Let's see what makes this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a compelling investment option at the moment.

Estimates Northbound

Earnings estimate revisions have the greatest impact on stock prices. Over the past two months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sherwin-Williams for the current year has increased around 3.1%. The consensus estimate for 2021 has also been revised 1.9% upward over the same time frame.

Positive Earnings Surprise History

Sherwin-Williams has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. In this time frame, it has delivered a positive earnings surprise of 1.3%, on average.

Cash Deployment

The company remains committed to boost returns to shareholders. It repurchased 1.7 million shares of its common stock in the first quarter of 2020. Sherwin-Williams also hiked its quarterly dividend by 18.6% to $1.34 per share during the first quarter. It remains committed to maintain this dividend payout.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE is a measure of a company’s efficiency in utilizing shareholder’s funds. ROE for the trailing 12-months for Sherwin-Williams is 53%, above the industry’s level of 45.2%.

Growth Drivers in Place

Sherwin-Williams is seeing strong demand in its domestic end-use markets and remains committed to expand its retail operations. In the last reported quarter, it witnessed higher sales in the Americas Group segment, primarily owing to higher architectural paint sales volumes across all end markets. The company is benefiting from sustained strength in architectural paint markets in North America.

Moreover, Sherwin-Williams is focused on capturing a larger share of its end-markets, as reflected by an increasing number of retail stores. The company plans to open around 50 new stores in 2020.

Sherwin-Williams’ cost control initiatives, working capital reductions, supply chain optimization and productivity improvement are also yielding margin benefits. Working capital management and efforts to cut operating costs are also helping the company to generate strong cash flows. The company is also taking appropriate pricing actions, which is lending support to its margins.
 

 

Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Sandstorm Gold Ltd (SAND - Free Report) , Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (HMY - Free Report) and Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD - Free Report) .

Sandstorm Gold has a projected earnings growth rate of 55.6% for the current year. The company’s shares have rallied roughly 63% in a year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Harmony Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 264.3% for the current fiscal year. The company’s shares have shot up around 131% in the past year. It presently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Royal Gold has a projected earnings growth rate of 66.2% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained around 9% in a year. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

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