PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Cut to “Hold” at KeyCorp

KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.29.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG Industries stock traded down $1.06 on Monday, hitting $120.19. 608,662 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. PPG Industries has a 1 year low of $118.07 and a 1 year high of $150.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.37.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. State Street Corp lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,552,100,000 after purchasing an additional 491,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after acquiring an additional 485,597 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,197,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $276,576,000 after acquiring an additional 368,410 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,757,000 after acquiring an additional 354,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PPG Industries by 189.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 426,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,538,000 after purchasing an additional 279,455 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.