Christine PoolePPG IndustriesPPGPAST TOP PICKApr 19, 2016

Produces chemicals and products which are chemically-based, and is in a great sweet spot. There will be continued demand on the infrastructure side and input prices are low. A good company to be in.

A global coatings company for houses, airplanes, cars and industrial applications. Their earnings numbers were guided down recently as they are divesting. They are also seeing continued weakness in Europe. She is sticking with it at present until earnings are announced. If you are going to buy wait for the earnings announcement.

(A Top Pick Feb 10/15. Down 19.3%.) A global coatings company and has been under pressure. They are a leader in all their end markets. They also produce architectural paint as well as paint for the auto sector. Good shares in China, Europe as well as the US.

Paint and coatings for aerospace, industrial and autos. They are geographically diversified. Auto demand in China is a long term secular growth story. A lot of their input costs are energy based.

(A Top Pick Nov 11/14. Up 5.08%.) A global coatings company. They do architectural paint, coatings for airplanes, coatings for marine applications, etc. They are a leader in this space. About 45% of revenues are in North America, so currency has been a headwind. Also, have exposure in China and Europe through the auto space. Longer-term, auto sales, especially in China, is going to grow. A lot of input costs are crude oil based, so they should get a nice tailwind with lower raw material costs. Dividend yield of about 1.5%.

Has a lot of International exposure. 40%-45% is North America and the rest is international. A global coating company. They are number 2 in 70% of their end markets. Provides coating for aerospace. Also, have architectural paints (house paint) as well as auto OEM coating. A leading player in the US. Recently acquired the largest player in Mexico. Raw material costs are largely petrochemical based, so they will benefit from lower crude prices. Yield of 1.18%.

They provide the coatings and paint for aerospace, and are benefiting from the strong cycle. Also, in automotive painting in all the major geographies, so the ramp up and demand in China and Europe for autos will be a benefit. Into architectural paint for housing as well, so it is a play on housing starts. Yield of 1.18% and has consistently increased the dividend for 43 consecutive years.

A global coatings company. In the last few years they decided to focus on performance coatings, coatings in aerospace. They do all the painting for Airbus and Boeing planes. Made a few acquisitions in-house paints to gain share. Also, have industrial application, and automotive coating with strong share in the US, China and Europe. Recently announced an acquisition of a Mexican company that is a leading paint manufacturer. Yield of 1.3%.

Still likes it. They are buying a manufacturer in Mexico. Coatings company. Leveraged to housing, autos and they are geographically diverse in the US. Those markets are all improving. They are disciplined in terms of cost improvement. They are selling off non-core, mature businesses. As long as earnings keep growing, she is happy to be there.

(Top Pick Mar 14/13, Up 43.14%) They made an acquisition that is expanding their presence in the US. Focusing on higher value stuff. Strong balance sheet and cash flow. They could do another acquisition or return cash to shareholders.