PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $155.47.

A number of analysts recently commented on PPG shares. Evercore ISI cut PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $124.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.51 and a 200-day moving average of $137.99. PPG Industries has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89. The company has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.26.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.92%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.