PPG Slips In After-Market As 3Q Sales Volume Drops

Shares in PPG Industries declined by about 1.4% in extended trading on Monday as its 3Q top-line fell 4% year-over-year due to a 5% decline in sales volume, reflecting the negative impact of COVID-19. Overall, the paints and specialty materials supplier reported better-than-expected 3Q results.

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PPG Industries’ (PPG) EPS grew 15.6% year-over-year to $1.93, surpassing analysts’ estimates by a penny. Moreover, its revenues of $3.7 billion came marginally ahead of the Street’s estimates of $3.65 billion.

The company’s CEO Michael H. McGarry said “Even with the continued uncertainty from the pandemic we expect overall economic activity to continue to recover, but in an uneven manner.” He added “The pandemic is still significantly impacting the demand for certain coatings products – most notably, global commercial aerospace, marine, and protective coatings that support the oil and gas industry.”

For the fourth quarter, PPG expects EPS to be in the range of $1.50 to $1.57 and anticipates aggregate sales volumes to be down in low-to-mid-single digit percentage. McGarry said that “automotive refinish coatings demand in the U.S. and Europe will remain below 2019 levels until there is a return to more normal commuting patterns.” He added, “We remain well positioned to capture additional incremental earnings growth once these sectors, that represent about 30% of our business portfolio, begin to recover.” (See PPG stock analysis on TipRanks).

Following the preliminary results on Oct. 8, Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter raised the stock’s price target to $150 (11.7% upside potential) from $135 and maintained a Buy rating. He said that PPG’s 3Q earnings beat during the preliminary results announcement was not “surprising” and very much expected, as its peer Sherwin-Williams had also preannounced an earnings beat.

Currently, the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 12 Buys and 5 Holds. The average price target of $134.13 implies that shares are fully priced at current levels. Shares are up 0.6% year-to-date.