PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Upgraded to “Buy” by Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, 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, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.78 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.56 EPS.

PPG has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of PPG Industries from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $155.50.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $131.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $140.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.99.

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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 23.13%. PPG Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.92%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $554,685,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,480,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,661,083,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,558 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 41.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $427,580,000 after purchasing an additional 959,849 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 4,484.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 723,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $108,228,000 after purchasing an additional 707,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,492,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.