PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

PPG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.1 %

PPG stock opened at $130.52 on Monday. PPG Industries has a fifty-two week low of $120.32 and a fifty-two week high of $152.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. PPG Industries’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 11,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in PPG Industries by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 358,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,512,000 after purchasing an additional 35,571 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in PPG Industries by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,224,000 after purchasing an additional 20,226 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 8,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.