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PPG Industries and The Andersons have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 10, 2023 – Zacks Equity Research shares PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Wells Fargo & Company (WFC - Free Report) , The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC - Free Report) and M&T Bank Corp. (MTB - Free Report) .

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

PPG Industries, Inc. is bullish about the growth in paints and coatings in 2023 as the auto industry and aerospace outperformed in Q1. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is expected to grow earnings by 20.2% this year.

PPG was founded in Pennsylvania in 1883. The company is celebrating its 140th year in business this year. It develops and delivers paints, coatings and specialty materials to customers in more than 70 countries. It has customers in the construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets.

PPG Outlines Growth Framework

On May 24, 2023, PPG shared its PPG framework for purposeful, profitable growth for the next 4 years.

It aims to establish annual 2% to 4% organic sales growth. It expects annual adjusted EPS growth of 8% to 12% through 2026.

Additionally, it aims for free cash flow of about $1 billion per year.

Record Q1 Sales

On Apr 20, 2023, PPG reported its first quarter results and blew by the Zacks Consensus, reporting earnings of $1.82 versus the consensus of $1.55. That's a beat of $0.27, or 17.4%.

It was the second beat in a row for PPG.

The company saw record first quarter sales of $4.38 billion, up 2% from $4.308 billion in the prior year due to an 8% rise in selling prices while volumes declined 3%.

Several businesses outperformed the company's original forecast including the aerospace coatings business and the Latin America region, with both delivering record sales. PPG's automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings business also was boosted by solid global production growth.

Analysts Getting Bullish Again

PPG will report second quarter results on July 20, 2023. In April, the company believed the macro environment would generally remain consistent with the first quarter with continued stabilization of economic activity at lower levels in Europe and modestly improving demand in China.

In the US, PPG expected sequential slowing in economic activity in certain end-use markets, particularly in those that were construction-related.

It gave full year earnings guidance in the range of $6.95 to $7.25.

But analysts don't seem to think the April forecast is going to be correct. 1 analyst has raised both the 2023 and 2024 earnings estimate in the last week and that has pushed the consensus above the company's guidance range.

The 2023 Zacks Consensus Estimate has jumped to $7.27 from $6.84 just 3 months ago. That's earnings growth of 20.2% over 2022 where the company made $6.05.

Shares Attractively Valued

Shares of PPG are up 16.7% year-to-date which is outperforming the S&P 500 which is up 14.6%.

But it is still attractively valued with a forward P/E of 20 and a PEG ratio of just 1.1. It also has a price-to-sales ratio of just 1.9.

PPG is also shareholder friendly and pays a dividend, yielding 1.7%.

For investors looking for a play on the industrial and chemical side of the economy, PPG Industries should be one on your short list.

Bear of the Day:

The Andersons, Inc. is navigating a changing agriculture market in 2023. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) is expected to see earnings decline nearly 35% this year.

The Andersons is an agribusiness company which has grown, over the last 76 years, from a single grain elevator to a diverse company with commodity merchandising (trade), renewables, and nutrient and industrial specialties.

It has 79 facilities in the trade division, 4 in renewables and 37 in nutrient and industrial.

Q1 Record for Trade

On May 2, 2023, The Andersons reported its first quarter 2023 results and beat the Zacks Consensus by $0.03. Earnings were $0.20 versus the consensus of $0.17. It was the fourth earnings beat in a row. It's last earnings miss came at the start of the Ukraine War when it got caught on the wrong side of the trade as prices spiked.

Trade led the first quarter this year, with an adjusted pretax income of $24 million, a record first quarter. Renewables saw a pretax loss of $83 million  while Nutrient & Industrial also reported a pretax loss of $10 million on a slow start to the planting season.

Fertilizer prices fell in the quarter and customers deferred purchasing. The Andersons said some of the typical first quarter business would shift into Q2, but The Andersons didn't believe all of it would be recovered.

The company continues to generate strong free cash flows. The Andersons is shareholder friendly and currently pays a dividend yielding 1.6%.

Analysts Are Bearish

The 2023 Zacks Consensus has been on the decline over the last 60 days as one analyst had cut estimates during that time. The Zacks Consensus has fallen to $2.65 from $2.94 over the last 2 months.

That is an earnings decline of 34.6% over 2022 which saw The Andersons make $4.05.

However, keep in mind that The Andersons is a small cap company with a market cap of just $1.6 billion. Small cap companies are lightly covered on Wall Street compared to the large caps. Zacks only has 2 full year estimates for 2023.

Shares Up in 2023

Despite the earnings decline, shares are up 33.4% year-to-date and are trading near 52-week highs.

It's not cheap on a P/E basis as it has a forward P/E of 17.6 but it has dirt-cheap P/B and P/S ratios of 1.2 and 0.09, respectively.

Still, the rebound off the 2022 sell-off appears to be priced in now but the shares have yet to take out the 2022 highs.  

The Andersons will report second quarter results on Aug 1, 2023. Investors interested in an agribusiness company should tune into the earnings results. They could be a catalyst for some positive earnings estimate revisions, and a change in the Zacks Rank.

Additional content:

What to Expect from Wells Fargo's (WFC - Free Report) Q2 Earnings Report?

Wells Fargo & Company is scheduled to report second-quarter 2023 results on Jul 14, before the opening bell. The company's quarterly earnings and revenues are expected to have improved year over year.

In the last reported quarter, WFC's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate on higher net interest income (NII) and solid average loan growth. The fall in non-interest expenses acted as another tailwind. However, dismal non-interest income, higher provisions and weakness in the mortgage business were the major undermining factors.

Over the trailing four quarters, Wells Fargo's earnings surpassed the consensus estimate in three occasions and missed once, the average surprise being 7.17%.

Let's take a look at factors that are expected to have influenced Wells Fargo's second-quarter earnings.

Loans and NII: Banks' lending activities are likely to have declined in the second quarter, as the challenging macroeconomic backdrop and high interest rates impacted consumer spending. Per Fed's latest data, demand for commercial and industrial loans, real estate loans and consumer loans decreased in April and May from first-quarter end.

Nonetheless, in May 2023, Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 5-5.25%, the highest since 2008. Further, in June it declared no changes in the given policy rate. Driven by interest rate hikes, Wells Fargo is expected to have witnessed an improvement in earning asset yields, margin and NII in the quarter to be reported. Also, lower mortgage-backed securities premium amortization is expected to have aided NII.

Amid these considerations, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for WFC's NII is pegged at $12.94 billion, indicating a 26.9% rise from the prior-year quarter's reported figure.

Mortgage Banking Revenues: In first-quarter 2023, Wells Fargo communicated its strategic plans to exit Correspondent business with an intention to reduce risks in mortgage business. Further, in the second quarter, mortgage rates continued to increase, with the rate on 30-year fixed mortgage reaching 6.81% in June, up from 4.6% reported in the prior-year quarter. The climb in mortgage rates, which kept home buyers on the sidelines, led to a smaller origination market, both purchase and refinancing compared with the prior-year quarter.

Hence, being one of the largest bank mortgage lenders in the United States, WFC is likely to have continued seeing declines in its home lending portfolio and mortgage banking income in second-quarter 2023.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WFC's second-quarter 2023 mortgage banking revenues is pegged at $250 million, implying a 12.9% fall on a year-over-year basis.

Overall Non-Interest Revenues: Wells Fargo's investment advisory and other asset-based fee revenues are likely to have borne the brunt of weaker equity and fixed-income market performance. A dip in market valuations and lower transactional activities are expected to have been headwinds too.

Further, the company is likely to have seen lower deposit-related fees due to an expected decline in deposits given the impact of regional bank collapses. The consensus mark for the same is pegged at $1.15 billion, implying a year-over-year decrease of 16.2%.

Global deal making is likely to have continued shrinking in the second quarter from the prior year, with deal volume and total deal value numbers crashing. Geopolitical tensions, inflation, high interest rates and fears of a global recession are likely to have acted as headwinds for merger and acquisition deals.

Similarly, IPOs and follow-up equity issuances are expected to have dried up in the to-be-reported quarter. Bond issuance volume might have witnessed a decline too as investors turned pessimistic.

Nonetheless, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Wells Fargo's total non-interest income is pegged at $7.23 billion, suggesting a 5.9% increase from the prior-year quarter's reported number.

Expenses: Wells Fargo's costs are expected to have continued flaring up in the second quarter, given its franchise investments in technology and digitalization efforts. Additionally, amid the rising inflation, salary expenses are anticipated to have led to elevated non-interest expenses. This is likely to have hindered bottom-line growth during the quarter under review.

Asset Quality: With expectations of a worsening macroeconomic outlook and growing recession risk, Wells Fargo's credit quality is likely to have deteriorated. Moreover, given the heighted market volatility, commercial loan defaults are expected to have risen. Hence, as WFC has a substantial exposure to commercial loans, it is likely to increase reserves in the second quarter.

What Our Model Predicts

According to our quantitative model, the chances of WFC beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings this time are low. This is because it does not have the combination of two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: The Earnings ESP for Wells Fargo is +0.16%.

Zacks Rank: WFC currently carries a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter earnings has been revised 2.5% downward in the past week to $1.16 per share. Nonetheless, it suggests a year-over-year rise of 56.8%.

Also, the consensus estimate for quarterly revenues of $20.28 billion indicates a 19.1% increase from the prior-year quarter's reported number.  

Other Banks That Warrant a Look

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.and M&T Bank Corp. are a couple of bank stocks that you may want to consider, as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases, per our model.

The Earnings ESP for PNC is +1.41% and the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. It is slated to report second-quarter 2023 results on Jul 18. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PNC's second-quarter earnings has moved 1% south over the past month.

MTB is scheduled to release second-quarter 2023 results on Jul 19. It currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.84% and a Zacks Rank #3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTB's second-quarter earnings has moved 1.9% south over the past week.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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