Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, can I get your recommendation on PPG Industries? It looks like a good stock for the future. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: PPG Industries Inc., $180.59, symbol PPG on New York (Shares outstanding: 237.1 million; Market cap: $42.6 billion; www.ppg.com), is the world’s largest producer of coatings and paints for the automotive, aerospace, construction, and industrial markets. Its paint brands include PPG, Olympic, Glidden and others. PPG’s sales and earnings have risen slowly in recent years, although the pandemic did disrupt that steady growth last year. The company’s sales rose 2.6%, from $14.75 billion in 2016 to $15.15 billion in 2019. Sales then fell 8.9% to $13.83 billion in 2020 as business closures due to COVID-19 hurt demand for PPG’s products. Earnings per share rose 6.9% between 2016 and 2019, from $5.82 to $6.22. Per-share earnings then fell 8.4% in 2020 to $5.70. In the quarter ended March 31, 2021, PPG’s revenue rose 14.9%, to $3.88 billion from $3.38 billion a year earlier. Revenues were higher due to increases in both volumes and prices. Contributions from acquisitions also spurred revenue in the quarter. Excluding one-time…