Citigroup Cuts PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Price Target to $144.00

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $145.00 to $144.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp cut their price target on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on PPG Industries from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $151.08.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG opened at $125.96 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $128.93 and its 200 day moving average is $135.76. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.02. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This is an increase from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.