PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG – Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, a drop of 24.9% from the June 15th total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts recently issued reports on PPG shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on PPG Industries in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $158.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.47.
PPG Industries Stock Up 0.1 %
PPG Industries stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $149.95. 124,536 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,441,464. The company’s 50-day moving average is $141.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.68. PPG Industries has a 52-week low of $107.40 and a 52-week high of $152.50. The firm has a market cap of $35.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19.
PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 23.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.
PPG Industries Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.27%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PPG. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. WBH Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $374,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 658 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,840 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.95% of the company’s stock.
About PPG Industries
PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials worldwide. The company operates through 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; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.