PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $149.29.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PPG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG opened at $116.46 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries has a 52 week low of $113.00 and a 52 week high of $145.86. The stock has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

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

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 2,153.3% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,223 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in PPG Industries by 176.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 226,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,478,000 after purchasing an additional 144,357 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,197,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $276,576,000 after purchasing an additional 368,410 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 23,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 9,643 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,342,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.