StockNews.com Downgrades PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) to Buy

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.93.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG stock opened at $123.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $126.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $118.07 and a 12-month high of $151.16.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,552,100,000 after acquiring an additional 491,774 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,189,095,000 after purchasing an additional 485,597 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 20.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,197,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $276,576,000 after purchasing an additional 368,410 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,757,000 after purchasing an additional 354,740 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in PPG Industries by 189.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 426,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,538,000 after buying an additional 279,455 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.