PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $107.89 and last traded at $107.23, with a volume of 106068 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $111.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PPG shares. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $24.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.45.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in PPG Industries by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 546,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,225,000 after acquiring an additional 28,934 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,814,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,156,000. 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.