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

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $155.47.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

PPG Industries Price Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $125.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.45. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

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

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.