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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PPG. Robert W. Baird reissued an outperform rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic lowered PPG Industries from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $132.92 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $138.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.87. The company has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.30. PPG Industries has a 1-year low of $120.32 and a 1-year high of $152.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 11,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 358,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,512,000 after acquiring an additional 35,571 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 137.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 8,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 6.4% in the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

About PPG Industries

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.