PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG opened at $124.37 on Wednesday. PPG Industries has a 1 year low of $118.07 and a 1 year high of $151.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Company Profile

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.