PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Upgraded to “Buy” by Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for PPG Industries’ Q2 2024 earnings at $2.49 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.43 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.78 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.56 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PPG. Vertical Research raised shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $155.50.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $131.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.99. PPG Industries has a 52-week low of $120.32 and a 52-week high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 23.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPG. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 358,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,512,000 after purchasing an additional 35,571 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,224,000 after purchasing an additional 20,226 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.3% in 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. raised its position in PPG Industries by 6.4% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 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.