PPG Industries Inc. (PPG Quick QuotePPG - Free Report) has opened a $17 million aerospace application support center (ASC) in Toulouse, France. The facility offers aerospace materials filling and packaging capabilities, including coatings and sealants for a wide range of aircraft, as well as technical support and a laboratory. ASC Toulouse's strategic location allows it to provide faster product deliveries to aerospace customers in southern Europe and North Africa.

This new facility is expected to significantly improve PPG's responsiveness and customer support capabilities, while also allowing the company's unique materials to be qualified earlier in the product development cycle.

The ASC includes a laboratory for developing aerospace materials, a color blending area for coatings and a spray booth for hands-on paint application training. It also has touch-up kit filling lines, a transparencies inspection cell, customized packaging for third-party products, chemical management resources and a customer service center.

Shares of PPG have gained 9.5% over the past year compared with a 10.4% rise of its industry.

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PPG 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 #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Denison Mines Corp. (DNN Quick QuoteDNN - Free Report) , Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (AXTA Quick QuoteAXTA - Free Report) and Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN Quick QuoteHWKN - Free Report) .

Denison Mines has a projected earnings growth rate of 100% for the current year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).  DNN delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 225%, on average. The stock is up around 56.4% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Axalta has a projected earnings growth rate of 5.4% for the current year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1.  AXTA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.7%, on average. The stock is up around 27.9% in a year.

Hawkins has a projected earnings growth rate of 21% for the current year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).  Hawkins delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 27.5%, on average. HWKN shares are up around 61% in a year.