PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Price Target Increased to $142.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $140.00 to $142.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PPG. StockNews.com raised shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI cut shares of PPG Industries from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and set a $152.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $151.54.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $128.37 on Friday. PPG Industries has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $151.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.47 and its 200 day moving average is $136.04. The company has a market capitalization of $30.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.26. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.50%. PPG Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is a boost from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.