PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PPG traded down $2.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,230,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,812. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $118.07 and a 12-month high of $151.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.22 and a 200-day moving average of $127.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 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 company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 465.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter worth $40,000. 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.