PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on PPG. KeyCorp reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Vertical Research upgraded PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.50.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG opened at $130.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.97. 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 cap of $30.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.13% and a net margin of 7.74%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value 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 $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPG. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 11.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in PPG Industries by 25.0% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in PPG Industries by 30.7% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,189 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its position in PPG Industries by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in PPG Industries by 5.0% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.