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Fly News Breaks for October 10, 2018
RPM, AKZOY, PPG
Oct 10, 2018 | 09:05 EDT
After PPG (PPG) pre-announced Q3 and Q4 results that came in lower than Morgan Stanley's below-consensus forecast, analyst Vincent Andrews lowered his 2019 EPS estimate to $6.12 from $6.92 and said it would be below $6 without the benefit of $1.2B in assumed share repurchases during 2019. However, Trian's disclosure that it has built a 7M share stake "certainly makes the PPG story more interesting," given last year's failed approach of AkzoNobel (AKZOY) and the activist involvement at peers Akzo and RPM (RPM), Andrews tells investors. While he doesn't know what intentions Trian has in mind, his initial assessment is that Trian's focus will be on improving execution, most likely through a substantial cost restructuring program. Andrews, who added that "if nothing else comes out of all of this, we hope that PPG will begin to give annual earnings guidance," keeps an Equal Weight rating and $102 price target on PPG shares.