PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

PPG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $124.20 on Thursday. PPG Industries has a 12 month low of $118.07 and a 12 month high of $151.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.55. The company has a market cap of $28.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 66,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 158,761 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,412 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,454,000 after purchasing an additional 19,189 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. 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.