PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decrease of 20.6% from the September 30th total of 2,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 13.5% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 1st quarter worth $332,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in PPG Industries during the first quarter worth about $211,000. LVW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the first quarter valued at about $233,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 21.6% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PPG traded down $0.79 on Friday, reaching $126.45. 853,010 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,591,610. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.63. PPG Industries has a 12 month low of $118.07 and a 12 month high of $151.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

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.