RPM International (NYSE:RPM) Upgraded to Neutral at Bank of America

Key Points

• RPM International has been upgraded from "underperform" to "neutral" by Bank of America, with a new price target of $128.00, indicating a potential upside from its previous close.
• Several other firms have increased their price targets for RPM International, with Wells Fargo raising theirs to $145.00 and UBS Group to $119.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• RPM International reported a $1.72 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a revenue increase of 3.7% compared to the previous year.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $128.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company's stock, up from their previous target price of $110.00. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.86% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on RPM International in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on RPM International from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on RPM International from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on RPM International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on RPM International from $113.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.09.

RPM International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RPM traded up $2.5020 during trading on Thursday, hitting $125.6620. 313,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 765,113. RPM International has a 1-year low of $95.28 and a 1-year high of $141.79. The company has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $114.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.16.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. RPM International had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 9.34%.RPM International's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that RPM International will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frederick R. Nance sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,547.84. This represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPM International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of RPM International by 5.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in RPM International by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 9,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in RPM International by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its stake in RPM International by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 14,727 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in RPM International by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.95% of the company's stock.

RPM International Company Profile

RPM International Inc manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems.