PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Lifted to “Buy” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for PPG Industries’ Q2 2024 earnings at $2.49 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.43 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.78 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.56 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.38 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut PPG Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:PPG opened at $130.52 on Monday. PPG Industries has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 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.