PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

PPG Industries Trading Up 1.1 %

PPG opened at $122.68 on Tuesday. PPG Industries has a one year low of $118.07 and a one year high of $151.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.26.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. PPG Industries’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.11%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in PPG Industries by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 134,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 21.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,142,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $151,276,000 after acquiring an additional 198,353 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in PPG Industries by 1.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 7,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 8.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 351,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,618,000 after acquiring an additional 27,342 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in PPG Industries by 39.1% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,593,000 after purchasing an additional 7,629 shares during the last quarter. 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.