PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Cut to Hold at Argus

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

PPG has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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, December 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $115.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.75. PPG Industries has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $145.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, research analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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.