PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $151.08.

A number of research firms have weighed in on PPG. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 11,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 28,345 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 9,384 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in PPG Industries by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,224,000 after acquiring an additional 20,226 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in PPG Industries by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 274,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,620,000 after purchasing an additional 22,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,703,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,159,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $127.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $151.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $128.54 and a 200-day moving average of $135.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. 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. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

About PPG Industries

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.