The shares of paint-supplier supreme Sherwin-Williams (SHW), first written about here on June 12, 2009, at a price of $55.10, have pulled back slightly, to about $82, but the dip looks like a healthy correction following an impressive 2010 rise.

Even so, if you haven't already, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits, if you're in near $55.

Those investors who can tolerate the risk can retain their full position, but keep in mind that top-side gains probably will be limited to the $100-level during this economic expansion.

The shares of paint-supplier supreme Sherwin-Williams (SHW), first written about here on June 12, 2009, at a price of $55.10, have accelerated out of a $65 low recorded this summer to trade about $83, and with the aforementioned in mind, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits, if you're in at/near $55.

Those investors who can tolerate the risk can retain their full position, but keep in mind that top-side gains probably will be limited to the $100-level during this economic expansion.

Analyst Upgrades

• General Electric (GE) and Barclays (BCS) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Warnaco (WRC) to outperform from market perform and Melco Crown (MPEL) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Parker-Hannifin (PH) and Emerson Electric (EMR) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• AMD (AMD) to buy from neutral at Nomura.
• Novellus (NVLS) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• OpenTable (OPEN) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Lear (LEA) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Adobe (ADBE) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Sherwin-Williams (SHW - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company reported third-quarter earnings this morning, posting a profit of $175.26 million, or $1.60 per share, on revenue of $2.172 billion. Analysts had forecast a profit of $1.68 per share on revenue of $2.18 billion.

Sherwin-Williams also cut the top end of its full-year forecast from $4.52 to $4.22 and issued Q4 guidance of $0.59 - $0.69, which is well under analysts' estimates of $0.80. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on SHW.

The earnings crunch continues this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating lots of strong quarterly reports.

For example, year-over-year earnings growth from big oil Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), ExxonMobil (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) are expected to be in double digits. The same is true of many other energy and mining concerns reporting this week: Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Alliant Energy (LNT), Arch Coal (ACI), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), CMS Energy (CMS), CONSOL Energy (CNX), DPL (DPL), Hess Corp. (HES), Minerals Technologies (MTX), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), PPL Corp. (PPL), Southwestern Energy (SWN), Total (TOT), Whiting Petroleum (WLL), Williams Companies (WMB) and Wisconsin Energy (WEC).

If you took the opportunity to take some profits off the table this summer with paint-supplier supreme Sherwin-Williams (SHW) it proved to be a wise move, as shares dipped from about $78 to the $72 level. However, I still like the shares, which I first wrote about here on June 12, 2009, at a price of $55.10.

Look for Sherwin to post a 6% to 8% 2010 revenue increase, after an 11% decline in 2009.

Totally unsexy paint-supplier Sherwin-Williams is not likely to grace the cover of Fortune or Forbes magazine anytime soon, but investors will accept the company's profits just the same.

Analyst upgrades:

• BMO Capital upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and the company's growth outlook. The firm has a price target of $125 on the stock.
• Morgan Keegan upgraded WESCO (WCC) to Outperform from Market Perform ahead of Thursday's earnings report based on valuation and expectations for stronger than expected sales.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Bank of Marin (BMRC) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $40 price target following the company's Q2 results.
• BHP Billiton (BHP) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• PPG Industries (PPG) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Paint-supplier extraordinaire Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW), first written about here on June 12, 2009 at a price of $55.10, has advanced recently, with the stock testing psychological resistance at $80 before a recent pull-back.

Further, even the outlook for Sherwin looks decent, given that the U.S. housing sector (as measured by both new and existing home sales) has likely bottomed, now may be a prudent time for those investors who can't tolerate the risk to consider taking some profits off the table with SHW. The reason? So far during this recovery, private sector job growth has been sub-par, and that may weigh on household formation and paint sales.

Today, we have seen more than 7,500 April 70 calls change hands for 25 cents per contract, which was the asking price at the time (suggesting buying pressure). This compares to existing open interest of just 3,100. Breakeven for this particular strategy is $70.25, so the call buyer needs SHW to move nearly 7% higher by April 16 to put these calls in profitable territory.

You've heard the expression, 'It's about as exciting as watching paint dry.' Well, watching paint dry is exciting, if you own shares of Sherwin-Williams (SHW), first written about here on June 12, 2009 at a price of $55.10.

As noted earlier, totally unsexy paint-supplier Sherwin-Williams is not likely to grace the cover of Fortune or Forbes magazine anytime soon, but investors will accept the company's profits, just the same.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) better-than-expected Q4 numbers due to strong holiday sales of media products.
• BlackRock Inc. (BLK) reported strong Q4 results and doubled assets under management due to an acquisition.
• Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) shares fell despite better-than-expected Q4 earnings as guidance fell short of the Street view.
• DeVry Inc. (DV) reported better-than-expected Q2 numbers due to increasing enrollments, which lifted shares.
• EMC Corp. (EMC) reported strong Q4 results that beat the Street view and offered full-year guidance.
• General Dynamics Corp. (GD) Q4 results fell short of expectations and its guidance was less than estimates.

Let's check out some earnings reports from earlier in the week. We have Mattel (MAT), a toy business, Newell Rubbermaid (NWL), a consumer products company, and Sherwin-Williams (SHW), a supplier of fine paints. In all three cases, we'll see that technical concerns may outweigh fundamental strengths.

Mattel: Everyone loves toys, right? They're fun to play with. But no one wants to invest blindly in a stock even though it represents games and action figures. That's where the hard data come in. According to the fourth-quarter press release, Mattel made 89 cents per share, representative of an 80% increase. Incredible, huh? A higher gross profit and a better handle on operating efficiency drove the growth. Better commodity costs also helped out.

The Street.com's Jim Cramer says that he's making it his mission in 2010 to call out people in the media who provide no value.

Have you ever noticed that with every good housing report there are endless caveats:

1. Prices are still down year over year.

2. The home tax credit of $8,000 moved the house, and that will go away.

3. Home mortgages are artificially low because of the Fed.

4. Banks have more foreclosures on their balance sheets than before.

5. Foreclosures continue to occur.

6. Everything will slip back to imbalance when the credit goes away.

As noted earlier, unsexy paint-supplier Sherwin-Williams (SHW) is not likely to grace the cover of Fortune or Forbes magazine anytime soon, but investors will accept the company's profits, just the same, which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on June 12, 2009, at a price of $55.10.

Wall Street has started to notice the stock, but a considerable portion of the institutional investor community remains bearish, arguing that the U.S. housing sector's reduced size will weigh on paint results.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated the company's sales trends improved through September. The firm raised its target on shares to $49 from $33.
• Jefferies upgraded Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated IT spending will be strong in the second half of 2009, but the firm finds the stock fully valued at current levels. Jefferies raised its target on shares to $40 from $32.
• Pali Captital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and expectations that lower pricing and international growth will be catalysts going forward. The firm set a $45 price target on shares.
• Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PPD Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.