PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Cut to “In-Line” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from an outperform rating to an in-line rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Evercore ISI currently has $152.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PPG. Wolfe Research started coverage on PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated an outperform rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Barclays cut PPG Industries from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $149.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PPG opened at $129.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. PPG Industries has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $139.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.