Back to top

Image: Bigstock

PPG Evaluates Alternatives for Silica Products Business

Read MoreHide Full Article

PPG Industries Inc. (PPG - Free Report) has announced that it selected Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as a financial advisor to help it evaluate strategic alternatives for its silica products business.

The silica products business, which is part of the company's specialty coatings and materials strategic business unit, manufactures and provides precipitated silica products as performance-enhancing additives to leading manufacturers across the world. In 2023, the business accounted for 1-2% of PPG's overall net sales.

PPG intends to finish its evaluation of strategic alternatives by mid-2024. There is no guarantee that the assessment will result in a transaction or other consequence. PPG does not intend to declare developments or provide updates on the progress or status of the review unless and until it thinks it is appropriate or obliged to do so.

The silica products business is led by around 350 employees and manufactures products in Lake Charles, LA and Delfzijl, the Netherlands. There is also small batch processing at a component of a PPG facility in Barberton, OH, and a portion of a PPG facility in Monroeville, PA, which contains a laboratory, pilot plant and the business's leadership and administrative team offices.

Shares of PPG have gained 10.7% over the past year compared with a 17.9% rise of its industry.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

PPG, on its third-quarter call, said that it expects total organic sales to be up or down a low single-digit percent in the fourth quarter. The company's projected adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter is in the range of $1.44-$1.50. For the full year, the company raised its adjusted EPS projection to the band of $7.58-$7.64.

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

PPG currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include The Andersons Inc. (ANDE - Free Report) , Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM - Free Report) and Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD - Free Report) .

Andersons currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). ANDE beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 64.4%, on average. The company’s shares have surged 55.8% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CalMaine Foods currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. CALM beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 131.5%. The company’s shares have inched up 1.6% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Steel Dynamics’ current-year earnings has been revised upward by 4.3% in the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1.  Steel Dynamics delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.5%, on average. STLD shares are up around 5.8% in a year.

 

Published in