Argus Downgrades PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) to Hold

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.9 %

PPG stock opened at $113.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries has a 52-week low of $109.15 and a 52-week high of $145.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.58.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,156,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $568,000. 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.