Sherwin-Williams' (NYSE:SHW) 2011 Dependent on Volumes, Pricing, Margins

According to Ticonderoga, the performance of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) for the quarter and 2011 will be determined by volume, pricing and margins.

If they can hold down material costs, the company could surprise on the upside.

Ticonderoga says, "To us, this quarter’s issues look pretty straightforward: Can volumes continue recovering? Will Pricing appear, offsetting raw materials cost increases? Where are raw material costs expected to go in 2011? We believe the quarterly results for these issues and SHW overall will be solid, but not enough to move the equity significantly higher than its current near-record level.

"We do believe there is one issue investors could be pleasantly surprised about -future raw materials costs. We came away from our recent meeting at the InternationalBuilders Show (IBS) with the gut feeling that SHW may not be seeing the widely discussed 20%-30% 2011 price hikes in the key raw material TiO2. This issue is supremely important as we move through 2011, so this issue will be front and center on the call Tuesday, as will volume growth resumption. Our 4Q EPS estimate is $0.67, down 6.2% YoY and two cents ahead of consensus. We expect Revenues will climb 8.4% to $1.73B, which is below consensus of $1.79B."

Ticonderoga maintains a 'Neutral' rating on Sherwin-Williams (SHW), which closed Monday at $83.30, gaining $1.01, or 1.23 percent.