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Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Key Insights

  • The projected fair value for Sherwin-Williams is US$212 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

  • Current share price of US$220 suggests Sherwin-Williams is potentially trading close to its fair value

  • Analyst price target for SHW is US$248, which is 17% above our fair value estimate

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Sherwin-Williams

The Model

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

2031

2032

Levered FCF ($, Millions)

US$2.20b

US$2.44b

US$2.85b

US$2.88b

US$3.38b

US$3.63b

US$3.85b

US$4.03b

US$4.19b

US$4.33b

Growth Rate Estimate Source

Analyst x12

Analyst x11

Analyst x6

Analyst x2

Analyst x1

Est @ 7.51%

Est @ 5.88%

Est @ 4.73%

Est @ 3.93%

Est @ 3.38%

Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.2%

US$2.0k

US$2.1k

US$2.3k

US$2.1k

US$2.3k

US$2.3k

US$2.2k

US$2.2k

US$2.1k

US$2.0k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$21b

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.1%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2032 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$4.3b× (1 + 2.1%) ÷ (8.2%– 2.1%) = US$73b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$73b÷ ( 1 + 8.2%)10= US$33b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$55b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$220, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf
dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Sherwin-Williams as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.024. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Sherwin-Williams

Strength

  • Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

  • Debt is well covered by earnings.

  • Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Chemicals market.

  • Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Threat

  • Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Sherwin-Williams, we've put together three important elements you should consider:

  1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Sherwin-Williams (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

  2. Future Earnings: How does SHW's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.

  3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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