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

StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.25.

PPG Industries Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $111.99 on Monday. PPG Industries has a fifty-two week low of $110.20 and a fifty-two week high of $145.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.33.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,552,100,000 after acquiring an additional 491,774 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after purchasing an additional 485,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $403,049,000 after buying an additional 170,339 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after buying an additional 15,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in PPG Industries by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $248,650,000 after acquiring an additional 36,047 shares in the last quarter. 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.