PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.29.

A number of analysts have issued reports on PPG shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $155.00 price target (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.63. 2,021,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,431. The company has a market cap of $27.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $113.00 and a 12-month high of $145.86. The stock's 50 day moving average is $121.66 and its 200 day moving average is $124.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries's payout ratio is 43.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 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.