PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PPG. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho decreased their target price 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 target price on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.93.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $124.37 on Wednesday. PPG Industries has a twelve month low of $118.07 and a twelve month high of $151.16. The company has a market cap of $28.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $126.65 and its 200 day moving average is $127.06.

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

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPG. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in PPG Industries by 465.1% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.