Wall Street is expecting higher profit for PPG Industries(PPG)when the company reports its third quarter results on Thursday,October 18,2012.The consensus estimate is calling for profit of$2.21 a share,a rise from$1.96 per share a year ago.
Analysts are projecting earnings of$7.94 per share for the fiscal year.Revenue is projected to be 1.6%above the year-earlier total of$3.85 billion at$3.91 billion for the quarter.For the year,revenue is projected to come in at$15.28 billion.
A decline in revenue in the second quarter snapped a streak of three consecutive quarters of growing revenue.The 0.8%revenue decline in the most recent quarter can be compared with three quarters prior when it had been rising.It increased 6.2%in the first quarter,4.1%in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 11.2%in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
While the company has been profitable for the last eight quarters,income has fallen year-over-year by an average of 15.9%over the past four quarters.The company was hit the hardest in the first quarter as its net income dropped by 94.3%.
The majority of analysts(73.3%)rate PPG as a buy.This compares favorably to the analyst ratings of its nearest seven competitors,which average 43.4%buys.Analysts have become more cautious about the stock in the last three months.Despite this,the stock price has risen from$104.13 on July 17,2012 to$114.23 over the past quarter.
