StockNews.com Downgrades PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp lowered PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.29.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.6 %

PPG stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,868,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,779. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $27.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.25. PPG Industries has a 1-year low of $118.07 and a 1-year high of $150.82.

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

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 463.8% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $566,000. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 67,443 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.