PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.47.

PPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. 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, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

PPG Industries Trading Up 1.2 %

PPG stock opened at $134.35 on Friday. PPG Industries has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89. The company has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $137.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PPG Industries by 0.9% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 2.0% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 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.