Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) shares are trading higher by 7.5% to $357.11 since reporting first-quarter results on April 29. The company’s earnings beat has been a key catalyst for the stock amid strong margin performance.

What To Know: The company posted first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.25, beating estimates of $2.16, despite a 1.1% year-over-year dip in revenue to $5.31 billion. Sales in the Paint Stores Group grew 1.2%, offsetting softness in the Consumer Brands and Performance Coatings divisions.

CEO Heidi Petz emphasized cost control and margin expansion as key drivers behind the results and reaffirmed full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $11.65 to $12.05.

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Analysts have responded positively. On April 30, Wells Fargo upgraded Sherwin-Williams from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised its price target from $350 to $420.

RBC Capital Markets followed on May 1, maintaining an Outperform rating and increasing its price target from $410 to $420. Both analysts see a 17.6% potential upside from current levels.

The company continues to return capital aggressively, repurchasing $351.7 million in shares and raising its dividend by 10.5% in the first quarter. Sherwin-Williams projects full-year revenue growth in the low-single-digit range, expecting ongoing demand softness in several markets.

How To Buy SHW Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share — or fractional share — of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, with Sherwin-Williams, it is in the Materials sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, SHW has a 52-week high of $400.42 and a 52-week low of $282.09.

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