PPG Industries (PPG) Offers Windscreen For NTT Indycar Series

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE:PPG) announced that its ballistic, canopy-like windscreen is expected to make its official motorsports debut this week.

Notably, the company’s polycarbonate-laminated ballistic windscreen is an important component of the NTT Indycar Series’ Aeroscreen.

Developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the Aeroscreen will feature on all cars competing in St. Petersburg’s Firestone Grand Prix in Florida on Mar 15. It has been evaluated numerous times since its initial on-track assessment in October 2019. Notably, it is Indycar’s latest safety breakthrough that lowers the risk of injury for drivers from flying debris or other objects affecting the cockpit area.

Reportedly, in less than 15 minutes, the entire Aeroscreen assembly can be installed or removed from an NTT Indycar Series car.

PPG Industries’ windscreen comprises an interior anti-reflective coating, an anti-fogging system that uses an integral heating element and up to eight exterior tear-offs that can be removed during pit stops when the screen gets dirty. Notably, the weight of the windscreen is 17.3 pounds and can resist a two-pound object that hits at more than 220 miles per hour.

Per management, PPG Industries is proud to play a key role in ensuring cockpit safety for drivers across the NTT Indycar Series season as an innovative industry leader in aerospace transparencies.

Shares of PPG Industries have dipped 12.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 45.8%.

On the fourth-quarter earnings call, the company expected continued organic growth in the Performance Coatings unit for 2020. For the Industrial Coatings unit, it expected a rebound in volume growth in the second half of 2020.

While PPG Industries is beginning to witness a modest recovery in industrial demand in China, it expects soft general industrial demand to persist in the United States and Europe.

For 2020, it projects adjusted earnings per share growth of 4-9%, which excludes the impact of currency translation. First-quarter 2020 earnings per share from continuing operations are projected between $1.32 and $1.42.

Further, the company expects sales growth of 1-3% (on a constant-currencies basis) for 2020, including acquisitions.

PPG Industries, Inc. Price and Consensus

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

PPG Industries currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) , NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG) and Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) .

Daqo New Energy has a projected earnings growth rate of 353.7% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 71.3% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NovaGold has a projected earnings growth rate of 11.1% for 2020. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The company’s shares have surged 72.9% in a year.

Barrick Gold currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a projected earnings growth rate of 49% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 40.7% in a year.

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