PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) PT Lowered to $155.00

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its target price decreased by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $160.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.87% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.50.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $130.40 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.97. The stock has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries has a fifty-two week low of $120.32 and a fifty-two week high of $152.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.47.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 23.13%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 11,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 11.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 358,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,512,000 after purchasing an additional 35,571 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,224,000 after purchasing an additional 20,226 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 2.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 8,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 6.4% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 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.