KeyCorp Cuts PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Price Target to $162.00

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its price target reduced by KeyCorp from $164.00 to $162.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PPG. Barclays lowered shares of PPG Industries from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their target price for the company from $163.00 to $149.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $130.52 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries has a 52 week low of $120.32 and a 52 week high of $152.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $139.81 and its 200 day moving average is $138.91.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during 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 22.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 43.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPG. CWM LLC raised its stake in PPG Industries by 11.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 25.0% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 30.7% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,189 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 4.5% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.0% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Company Profile

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.