JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) to Neutral

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was downgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $115.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $145.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 2.58% from the company’s previous close.

PPG has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:PPG opened at $118.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $119.33 and its 200-day moving average is $123.58. 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 12 month low of $110.20 and a 12 month high of $145.60. The firm has a market cap of $27.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPG. Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,217 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 1.1% during the third quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 8,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 1.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 7,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.