PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Rating Increased to Buy at Seaport Res Ptn

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors 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, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.78 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.56 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered shares of PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.50.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:PPG opened at $130.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries has a fifty-two week low of $120.32 and a fifty-two week high of $152.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.97.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.